Monster to Man
by darkdaysofsummer
Summary: Somewhat AU. They were monsters. They took her mother. They took the last hope for the world from her village. So how is she to feel when one of them shows he may not be such a monster after all?
1. Chapter 1

**Monster to Man **

**Rated: T **

**Yes, I who dislike the typical Zuko-captures-Katara-and-they-fall-in-love-and-everyone-is-okay-with-that stories am giving in, giving it a chance, and attempting to write one. This isn't **_**quite**_** a capture story but it is close enough. However, I don't want it to be too cliché, so if you are hoping for some romance write off the bat sorry, you'll have to read for a few chapters. **

**Also, I tend to imagine everything in my head as I'm writing and for some reason the characters appeared to me as the movie version. If you'd rather imagine them as in the cartoon, be my guest. Oh and even though I imagined this as the movie, the bending is as they do in the show. **

**This was actually inspired by a movieZutara video on Youtube with the song "Monster (remix)" by Meg & Dia. If I can find the actual name or a link, I'll let you know. **

**Ages if you're wondering are: Zuko, Suki, Yue: 17, Sokka, Mai: 16, Katara, Azula, Ty Lee: 15, Aang, Toph: 13 **

He came out of nowhere. The day was typical, aside from the fact there was the last airbender residing in their village. The ship came across the horizon, battering away chunks of ice with ease. It came to a shuddering halt on the edge of the ice, while the members of the village all gathered outside, watching with baited breath, praying the Fire Nation would leave as swiftly as they came.

She'd been eight the last time they came. And when they left, they took her mother's life and her happy childhood with them. They were all monsters. The one who appeared to be the leader was no different. As he removed his helmet and surveyed them, she realized he was still young. He couldn't have been much older than her brother.

Under the armor and coat it was difficult to assess his build. His hair was jet black and wild from being under the helmet. It stuck up it a few different directions, untamed like a wildfire. He had deep, dark eyes, surely as cold and cruel as the gaze of the man that took her mother. Even in this icy place, his skin retained a gleaming bronze color to it.

Her attention was drawn away as one of the soldiers dragged Aang out of the tent and deposited him at the feet of the leader. Aang stood up, brushing the snow off, and looked up at him. She realized now just how tall the leader was. She was only a few inches taller than Aang, but this boy stood over a foot taller than him.

He grabbed the front of Aang's shirt roughly, and dragged him forward, ripping off the hood Aang was using to conceal him arrow. He stared for a moment, as if confused, before announcing that this was the person they were looking for. She reached for her waterskin, but her brother's hand stopped her. She clenched her jaw, angry and frightened. Angry at this boy for taking Aang away, angry at herself and her tribe for doing nothing to stop him. But then memories of her mother floated back into her mind and fear for the rest of her tribe kept her rooted and silent.

He felt a little guilty taking this boy to the ship. When he had imagined the Avatar, he imagined an older man, but one of great power and ability. He expected a difficult battle, that when he caught him, the Avatar would use any possible element available and refuse to come quietly. This felt too easy.

He was right to have been suspicious and doubtful. After Uncle confirmed the boy was indeed the Avatar, he fled the room, using airbending to his advantage. It was difficult for his men to do anything while they were being blasted into the air. He wondered later why the boy didn't do any waterbending. After all, they were on a ship in the South Pole. It wasn't as if the element was lacking.

He burst through the door onto the deck of the ship and warned him there was nowhere to run. Maybe there was nowhere to run, but there was somewhere to fly. The boy's staff opened into a strange contraption and without a backward glance, he leapt off the ship. There was nothing left to do now but watch in despair as the one thing that could bring him home flew away on the back of some thought-to-be-extinct monster.

He watched, a mix of anger, despair, and shock whirling around within him, barely aware of his Uncle's words: "You're destinies are tied".


	2. Chapter 2

**I am **_**SO**_** sorry I did not get to post this earlier like I had planned. I had Internet issues and there was no way for me to update. **

**Thank you to everyone who has already reviewed or favorited this story, or put it on story alert. It means a lot and makes me feel good to see those messages. I was amazed at just how quickly I got responses on this story. I hope you will all enjoy it. A few nights ago I was unable to sleep, so I wound up pulling an all-nighter writing out an outline for this entire story. **

**I think I will mostly write this story in Katara's perspective, maybe with occasional bits from Zuko or others characters. She felt easy to write to me. BTW, I will skip over certain parts of the canon storyline if I feel they aren't necessary. If you don't see it here, assume it happened as in the cartoon canon, unless I say otherwise. **

**This chapter takes place during "The Southern Air Temple" and then, following "The Warriors of Kyoshi". The Gaang was at the Southern Air Temple but did not stop in Omashu and see Bumi. **

**ARGGH! Did I forget my disclaimer again? But you guys know I don't own ATLA, right? Otherwise this is what would have happened. **

A week had passed since the Avatar had escaped. There'd been nothing left to do but turn around and head north, hoping they could catch his trail. At least there was hope now. With the Avatar having returned, it meant a chance for them all to go home. It had been four years now, four, futile years of chasing rumors and legends around the world.

His men were as tired and disheartened as he secretly was and it wasn't fair to them. He knew he was sometimes a little too harsh towards them, especially when he was angry or frustrated, which was often. He'd never say it out loud, but he was grateful none of them had mutinied or left him yet. They weren't even _paid_ for this work. All of the men on this ship, save for Uncle, were being punished. They had all been accused of one crime or another. All of them were good fighters, good men, but they'd done something wrong. Sometimes it was insulting an officer, sometimes it was refusing to obey an order, which was often an insult itself to the one who gave it. Some of them weren't considered good enough for the military and were discharged before they ever got a chance to prove themselves. So, rather than be punished in the usual way, they were sent away to serve the banished prince. "Failures can work together" people said. "Yeah, and get nothing accomplished" others would agree. No one believed in them.

They'd stopped at a port near the Southern Earth Kingdom to restock on supplies and fuel for the ship. The Firelord, out of "kindness" for his son, had the treasury, up until the past year, provide them with just barely enough money to feed themselves and fuel the ship. Their warship was considered small by the Navy's standards, yet it still consumed a mass amount of coal needed to burn and power its engines.

There were thirty men on board, including himself and his uncle. That was thirty mouths to feed, not as easy as it sounded, especially when one of them was a seventeen-year-old still-growing boy who, despite his lean frame, had the appetite of a Komodo Rhino, and another was tea-obsessed old man, who wouldn't survive if the world's crop of tea leaves went bad.

Zuko's thoughts returned to one of the main things on his mind: the Avatar. That _child_ had lied to him. Said he'd come if no one got hurt and then had the nerve to break that word and run away. Zuko ought to have turned around, slaughtered those Water Tribe villagers, and burned what there was of that pathetic village, leaving nothing but a mess of blood and ash mixed with the snow, in order to teach that boy a lesson. One of his father's ranking officers would have ordered that to be done, if they'd been the one in charge of this mission. But going back would have wasted time and make them lose his trail even more. Zuko had never killed a woman or child before, and he didn't really want to. He didn't want to shed anymore blood than absolutely necessary. Killing them probably wouldn't have done anything; the boy was gone and wouldn't be around to see it.

As Zuko and his Uncle were about to step off the ship some soldiers from another came up the gangplank. Zuko sneered as he saw who was in front.

"Zhao" Zuko greeted the man through gritted teeth.

"It's _Commander_ Zhao" the man replied haughtily. "To what do I owe a visit of the Firelord's brother and son?"

"We're simply here for some supplies" Zuko said, his tone making it clear he wanted to stay no longer than need be.

"You such come to my ship and join us for lunch and tea. I'd love to hear all about your search for the Avatar. Have you found him yet?"

"No. If I did, don't you think I'd be on my way home, not hanging around here?"

"Zuko, show some respect" Iroh hissed at him. To Zhao, he said, "Thank you for the offer. We would be honored to join you for lunch. Do you have any jasmine tea?"

Zuko growled as he followed the men into the base.

It was awful; of course, a lot of that could have simply been because Zhao was there. He'd given a "toast" to Zuko, mainly to inform the crew of what a worthless failure Zuko was, while he, Zhao, was a great leader, etc, etc.

Zuko could only take so much. He clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white and the flames reacted to his emotion. He stood up, made his way over to Zhao, and informed him, as polite as he could manage of course, to _shut up_.

Zhao must have missed his politeness, or was able to see through its fakeness, because he snarled back an insulting comment. Iroh had to step in before any blows were thrown.

But Zuko wasn't letting this _Commander_ get away with speaking to, and about, him the way he had. Much as it would be to his Uncle's dismay, he knew, he challenged the arrogant, older man to an Agni Kai.

Zuko stood across the room from his opponent and pulled of his shirt, trying to ignore his uncle's pleas, that he didn't need to do this, that he would get hurt.

The last comment hurt. Uncle saw him train for hours every day. Didn't he have any faith in him?

There was no time to ask as he stepped into the area. All around them his crew, as well as Zhao's men, watched eagerly. For a moment, Zuko wondered how his crew would react if he won or lose. No, when he won. He wouldn't lose to this slime.

There was no more time to let his mind wander as the gong sounded. Zuko attacked first, shooting a stream of fireballs for his opponent to dodge. He'd hoped to go on the offensive, wear the older man down, then come in for the final blow.

It wouldn't work, he realized. Zhao was older than him, maybe twice his age, but was still fit enough to put up with Zuko's aggressive attacks.

It was Zhao's turn to be offensive as he sent a stream of fire towards the prince, trying to knock him off balance. Zuko backed up, getting away from the fire, but managed to stay on his feet.

Zhao sent another, fiercer blast towards him. This one just barely did the job of knocking him down. Zhao lunged forward, ready to blast at him again, but he was ready. In lightning speed, he spun his entire body around, with his arms on the ground, and used a sweep of his legs to knock the commander on his back.

Zuko could have sworn he heard gasps coming from the crowd, but didn't stop to look at any of the faces. Zhao had managed to stagger to his feet, but before he could attack, Zuko was on him. He sent blasts of flames from his feet, forcing the other man to back up. Zuko continued this until there were halfway across the arena, until Zhao fell back and crashed onto the ground.

Zuko stood there, poised, one arm drawn back in a fist, ready to deliver that final blow.

He didn't. There was just no point. The man was already knocked down, humiliated in front of his colleagues and soldiers, and by the banished prince no less.

Instead, he put a blast of fire next to the man's face, as a warning. To make it clear he stated, "The next time you get in my way, I won't hold back."

He turned and began to walk away to where the crew was. They were actually applauding his efforts and victory. Zuko felt the heat before he even turned around. But as he moved to block it, he saw there was no need. Uncle had somehow gotten between him and Zhao. The old general stopped the attack with ease and shoved the commander away.

"So this is how the great Commander Zhao attacks in defeat?" Iroh asked, loud enough for everyone to hear, the disgust in his voice obvious. "Disgraceful. Even in exile, my nephew has more honor than you." Stiffly polite, he added, "Thanks for the lunch and tea. It was delicious."

As they left for the ship, Zuko looked at his uncle in amazement. "Did you really mean that?"

The old man chuckled. "Of course. You would have known it was good if you'd actually eaten some. And they had ginseng tea. My favorite."

Zuko grinned and followed him. "Uncle, all tea is your favorite."

This was bad and it was all her fault. They'd been moving along the Earth Kingdom coast until they reached the North Pole to find Aang a waterbending teacher. But it seemed that would have to wait. They'd had a run-in with a boy caught earthbending and some Fire Nation soldiers hot on his tail. She'd thought she could help him by freezing the men in place and giving him a chance to escape. Her skills were unfortunately, only rudimentary, and she wound up freezing Sokka instead. Now, they were all headed for an Earthbending prison.

"I'm sorry, Aang", Katara whispered.

"Oh, yeah?" Sokka interrupted Aang's response. "What about me? I'm the one you _froze_."

Katara smirked and looked away. "I'm sure you deserved it for something."

"So, uh, we are we going exactly?" Aang asked.

"A prison. Like those soldiers said they were taking us to." This was the first time the little boy spoke up. He gives Aang a funny look. "Weren't you listening?"

Katara hid a giggle and had to hand it to the kid. Sometimes Aang wasn't the most attentive to things.

Like that they had just walked into what Katara assumed was the prison and Aang, who was staring at the boy and trying to hold a conversation with him, nearly stepped into the wall surrounding it. One of the soldiers reached over and yanked Aang by his shirt, sending him sprawling forward.

"Leave him alone!" Katara cried.

"What are you gonna do about it, waterbender?" the soldier snarled. He grabbed her by the forearm, making her cry out, and dragged her forward. "You're a pretty thing. I bet we could find a good use for you."

"You'd want a _savage_ for that?" another of the men asked. The soldiers, including the one holding her, all laughed.

"Why not? I've that some of these water tribe women can be very…feisty." He turned and addressed some other men. "Take those two boys and put them with the others. Tie the girl up in the barracks. Make sure there are no liquids anywhere near her."

Katara screeched in protest as two of the men tried to drag her away. As another few soldiers came towards Aang and Sokka, Aang blasted two of them away while Sokka threw his boomerang at the other, striking him in the side of the head.

The leader of the soldiers shouted, "That boy's an airbender! He must be the Avatar! Get him!"

The remaining soldiers pulled out their weapons or made balls of fire in their hands and circled towards Aang.

The airbender didn't even break a sweat as he blasted them away with a few sweeps of his staff. Apparently, firebenders weren't the best fighters as they were flying through the air. It also seemed apparent that the Fire Nation's best soldiers weren't posted here.

Getting blasted once or twice was enough for a few of them, who broke rank, and ran off. Their leader growled and sent a blast a fire towards Aang, who dodged it. The man prepared for another attack, only to feel something smack into the back of his head. He turned and saw the young Earth Kingdom boy standing there, levitating a small rock in the air with earthbending, preparing another strike.

The leader sent him blast of fire towards the boy, who panicked and dropped the rock, instinctively throwing up his arms as if they might shield him from the blazes.

They wouldn't, but the rock shield made by another man, clearly the boy's father, did. Everything became a whirlwind after that. Flames were being shot in different directions, rocks were being thrown about. Aang had blasted away a few guards who'd charged in to help their comrades and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sokka beating a soldier to the ground.

Clearly, these soldiers had enough sense left in them to know when enough was enough. They gave up on the fight, turning tail and fleeing, erupting cheers from the once captive Earth Kingdom prisoners.

There would be less rejoicing for Katara, Aang, and Sokka. Three tall figures entered into the prison just then, wearing travel-worn Earth Kingdom clothing, their heads covered by the cloak hoods.

The one in front, the tallest of them, removed his hood. Katara gasped as she realized it was the same boy that had taken Aang from their village. Had he really followed them all the way from the South Pole?

There would be no time to celebrate with the Earth Kingdoms villagers and no time to ask questions. Now it was just time to run.

**Whew! That chapter was longer than I thought it'd be, but oh well. I hope you enjoyed it. BTW, I'd never written an action scene before so I hope that it was alright. Any tips to make it better would be greatly appreciated. **


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm sorry for the lateness. I had a bit of writer's block on this.** **Aside from "The Waterbending Scroll" and "The Great Divide", which I left out, everything has happened as canon. This starts during "The Storm" and jumps into the end of "The Blue Spirit". Does anyone else think Zuko was badass in this episode and wished he used more of his Blue Spirit abilities in the show? **

**And I know I said I'd write more from Katara's perspective but am doing this chapter mostly in Zuko's. Oh well. I am making a change in time so that by the end of Sozin's Comet, the characters will be three years older than the ages I put at the beginning of chapter one. **

**Also, I'm sorry the spacing is so bad. I'll try to add a line or something so you can tell it apart easier. **

The fight with Zhao had been a week ago, yet he still couldn't shake off the feeling it gave him. He'd actually, for a split second, considered blasting the pompous man in the face. Had he done that, he would have been just like another man he knew.

The victory had felt good for the rest of the day, but by the next morning the high was wearing off. He'd spent the next week in a bad mood, trying to hide it, and utterly failing as he snapped and lashed out at one crew member after another.

It was Iroh who, by the end of the week, decided Zuko needed to blow off some steam and called on a handful of crew members to help him. They were more than happy. Zuko had been a bit of a brat this last week and even though he trained daily, it wasn't everyday they all got the chance to gang up on their leader.

They met out on the deck of the ship; it was the only place open enough to hold training practice. Zuko often spent up to six hours a day out here, firebending, training with weapons, practicing hand-to-hand combat. He didn't believe it, but he was an incredible warrior. Still, he trained for hours on end. Iroh was both pleased that Zuko took his training so seriously, and also worried; he wished Zuko would ease back if only a little. He wanted him to go out and be a bit more like a normal teenage boy. But that wouldn't happen. Zuko, even exiled, was a prince; he would never be 'normal'.

Zuko and five of the crew members stood in a circle on the deck, facing each other. Five more sat off to the side to watch and waited for their turn, while General Iroh busied himself making tea.

At a nod from Zuko the fight started. There was a whirlwind of red and black as six figures moved automatically. Zuko moved back and forth, blocking punches, disabling his opponents. Unfortunately, though the men were good fighters, he felt hardly any challenge with them anymore. It took only a few minutes and several solid hits to have all five of them lying on the ship deck, groaning.

"Looks like you guys are the ones that need the practice" Zuko said, though his tone was light, teasing almost. He felt a little better.

"Making you feel better _hurts_" one of the men complained.

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"There's a storm coming" Iroh commented as he sniffed the morning sea air the next day.

Zuko scoffed and looked at his uncle with an eyebrow raised skeptically. "There's not a cloud anywhere in the sky" he pointed out.

"Zuko", the older man chided. "You've been at sea long enough to know that it is fickle. One moment it is as calm as an innocent pygmy-puma kitten, the next it is as fierce as an angry saber-tooth moose lion".

Zuko grimaced as he heard the words. His uncle was right, of course. Zuko just hated to admit it.

He sighed. "Alright. If we turn around now and hurry, we should be able to pull into a port before it hits and ride it out. We'll head back out as soon as it's passed."

Iroh nodded, glad that Zuko was following his advice and thinking about everyone's well-being.

"I'll go and inform the helmsman. Perhaps I can find someone wanting to play a game of Pai Sho…" he mused as he walked off.

Zuko scowled as he looked out to sea. This set his plans back a bit. Still, if that child and his friends had any sense, they'd ride out this storm too.

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The tavern they'd sheltered in was a decent sized, but felt small due to how cramped it was. Everyone was either getting out of the sheets of rain that were coming down or just here as part of their everyday routine.

Zuko, Iroh, and six or so of the crew members, including Lieutenant Jee, were settled at a table in the back. The remaining members of the crew had opted to go off and find…other ways to pass the time.

Zuko picked at the mixture of meat, vegetables, and white rice heaped on his plate. He was hungry, yet he couldn't bring himself to eat.

His stomach chose that moment to growl, reminding him of the food it so desperately wanted. Resigned, and knowing how awful he would feel if he had an empty stomach later, he took a few bites.

"You don't seem very hungry tonight, nephew" Iroh commented, seeing how little the boy had eaten.

He shrugged in response. "I'm not."

Iroh turned away. He worried over Zuko. Sometimes the boy would eat an ostrich-horse if you let him and other times he barely ate a few mouthfuls. Zuko had grown tall and lean over the years, but sometimes Iroh feared he was too lean. He glanced back, relieved to see Zuko had taken another few bites.

Zuko busied himself in a conversation with Jee about the storm and how this might affect their plans. He didn't notice his food was gone until chopsticks scrapped a near empty plate. There were only a few chunks of meat and some vegetables left.

Movement near the table caught his eye. It was a stray dog, brown, scruffy, and skinny. It must have snuck in or been let in to get out of the rain. Zuko glanced around to make sure no one was looking, before scraping up the last of the food on his plate and tossing it to the dog. It grabbed the food and scarfed it down in record time. Then it licked its jaws and looked at him, wagging its tail, as if to say 'Thank you'. Zuko smiled.

"You know Zuko, there are a lot of pretty girls here" Iroh said casually.

Zuko sighed, knowing what was coming. He shifted in his seat so his side was towards his uncle and listened with half an ear to a speech Iroh had said before.

"We could settle down here, you could find a pretty girl…"

Iroh had said something similar to this before. Two years prior, they'd stopped at a Fire Nation colony. That was where he met _her_.

"We have more important things to do right now, uncle. When this is all over, then we'll think about pretty girls." Before Iroh could say more, Zuko stood up and retreated to a corner of the tavern. The dog followed him.

Iroh sighed heavily. Yes, he was worried about Zuko. The boy had little exposure to people his own age. Even growing up in the palace, he'd not had many friends.

"He's a complicated young man, if you don't mind me saying, sir" Jee said.

"Yes, he is. He wasn't always so much like this."

A few of the crew members frowned. "You mean he wasn't always stubborn and crabby and irritable? He's just being a teenager?"

Iroh chuckled. "Well he's always been stubborn, yes. His attitude was better when he was younger. It was after he got his scar and was banished he became more like this".

"I thought Prince Zuko was injured in a training accident." Some of the others nodded. "That's what we heard."

"I wish that were true. It may have been less painful. Zuko was thirteen when he got that scar…from the Firelord himself."

Around the table, eyes widened and jaws dropped.

"Zuko was still just a child, but he desperately wanted to attend a war meeting. He wanted to learn more and be a part of it. He was always trying to prove himself worthy of being heir."

"When one of the generals proposed a plan to sacrifice a group of new recruits, in other words let them be slaughtered, Zuko protested. He claimed how the soldiers loved our nation and wanted to serve and protect it and that by sending them to their deaths, they were being betrayed."

"He had a point, but he was so young. He didn't have the same knowledge and experience that the other men in that room did. The closest he'd come to a battle were the mock ones used in practice."

"The Firelord was outraged by Zuko's protest. He claimed it was an act of disrespect and that the matter needed to be settled properly."

Jee understood. "An Agni Kai."

Iroh nodded. "Yes. Zuko claimed he was not afraid and accepted the challenge. But when he faced his opponent, it was his own father. I believed it was wrong and cruel to make a child fight this way. I pleaded with my brother beforehand to do something else, but he refused."

"In the Fire Nation, we are taught about honor from the cradle, including honoring one's parents. For Zuko to fight against his father would be even more dishonorable. Zuko tried to apologize for his remark. He claimed he was thinking of the good of the Fire Nation, as a prince should, and had in no way meant to disrespect his father. Ozai would have none of it. He ordered Zuko to fight him. When Zuko refused, Ozai claimed he was weak and dishonorable. "

"I can still remember my brother's words 'You will learn respect. And suffering will be your teacher.' I looked away, but I could hear the screams and feel the heat as Ozai burned his flesh and blood. The burn was punishment for his refusal to fight. Ozai then exiled Zuko as punishment for his lack of honor and respect. He said anyone who did not respect him and his authority was not welcome and would be banished as well. "

"No one had spoken out when Zuko was burned. No one interfered, not even to protect an innocent child. I did not and not a day goes by that I don't regret that. I carry a great deal of grief over my decision to let Zuko into the war room with me. I'm grateful, though, that Zuko has never once blamed me over it."

"I again pleaded with my brother to not send Zuko away. Ozai relented enough to offer Zuko a way back into his life as crown prince. He said if Zuko could capture the Avatar and bring him to the Fire Nation, then he would be restored to his place in line for the throne. It was a fool's task, I knew, but Zuko had always been stubborn and never turned away from a challenge."

"That's why he was always so insistent. Obsessed even. It's his only way of things returning to normal."Jee said.

"Things will never be 'normal' for Zuko, unfortunately. It is a curse he has to bear as a prince. Still, with the return of the Avatar, Zuko has hope."

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Zuko returned to his room that evening after the storm had passed, the dog at his heels. He threw himself down on the bed. The dog sat next to it and watched him with steady eyes. He'd given it a bath (much to its dismay) and fed it some more (much to its delight).

_We could settle down here, you could find a pretty girl…_Uncle's words echoed in his head. He didn't need that right now. He had to focus on his task. But speaking of pretty girls…

Zuko reached over to his nightstand and pulled open the drawer. He pulled the necklace. The blue stone set in the leather band reflected the flames of the candles of his meditation altar. It was clearly of Water Tribe make and he knew it belonged to the girl that traveled with the Avatar. What he didn't know was why he bothered to keep it. It was a useless trinket; it had absolutely no value to him whatsoever.

Still, he found himself examining the light in the blue stone before tucking back into the drawer.

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Zuko bit his lip so hard he drew blood. He'd ducked at the last minute, trying to avoid the missile shot at him, but was a bit too slow. The arrow drove its head into the soft part of his shoulder. He staggered backwards, his blades falling from his hands as the pain swept through him.

The Avatar, with the swords no longer at his neck, waved his arms to create a cloud of dust, blocking them from the view of Zhao's men. "Let's get out of here!" the boy cried. Zuko smirked behind the mask, despite his pain. If only the Avatar knew who his savior was. They turned and moved quickly, still hidden by the dust cloud, into the woods.

Zuko winced and held back from making any noise as he removed the arrowhead and wrapped the wound. The rough bandage made from his shirt would work for now; he would do something better back at the ship where there was medicine and proper bandages.

The boy was ranting again about sick friends and frogs. Zuko stared at him blankly then waved him away. The boy was out of Zhao's clutches for now. He knew there was no way he'd be able to get him back to the ship. And he kept saying how his friends were sick. Normally, he wouldn't have cared how those Water Tribes peasants were feeling. But the boy acted so worried and afraid and Zuko realized that was exactly what he was. A frightened boy, too young for the task put on his shoulders. Just like he'd been when he was banished. He sighed, resigned.

"Oh, go get your damn frogs."

**So what should the name of Zuko's new pet be? I can't decide and am open to suggestions. If I choose your idea, I will be sure to note it in the next chapter. Next chapter is where the Katara-ends- up -on -Zuko's –ship starts! But do you think it'll be love at first (second, third?) sight? Stay tuned to find out and remember, reviews are love! **


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own ATLA. You know that, right? **

Zuko remained silent, crouched behind the bushes, face hidden behind the Blue Spirit's. He'd tracked the Avatar after releasing him from Zhao's fortress, curious to see where he went. The boy had been miles away from the abandoned village he'd left his friends at. He'd not been exaggerating when he said they were sick; they were both pale and exhausted-looking. Even from his hidden spot he could tell they'd been running fevers and could hear their rasping coughs. It was amusing though, to see their reaction to sucking on frogs.

When he was sure the Avatar's friends were going to be fine and that they'd be moving on tomorrow, he slipped away and made the journey back to his ship. The three had no real plan; just head north until they reached the Northern Water Tribe. It would be no problem to sail north along the coast and possibly intercept them on the way. Even with the gigantic flying bison they traveled on, it would still be weeks before they reached the North Pole.

On the riverboat, he exchanged the black Blue Spirit outfit for a simple black Navy pants and shirt. He left the clothes to soak in cold water to remove the stains. They wouldn't show much on black, but that didn't mean he wanted dried blood stains in his shirt. He splashed some of the water on his face to get off the dirt and grime and ran his hands through his hair, which was sticking up in every direction. When he looked a little more presentable, and certainly not as if he'd spent the whole of last night and some of this morning traipsing through the country, fighting for his life, and tracking some airheaded child, he returned to his ship.

He made his way silently through the corridors, hoping to get to his room without being noticed. The sun was up, which meant pretty much the entire crew was as well. He'd just slipped past the door to the mess hall, when a light from inside flickered on in the dark. Still on guard from his late-night adventure, Zuko instinctively went into fight mode.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Uncle Iroh stood in the doorway of the mess hall, a flame flickering in his right hand.

Zuko opened his mouth to respond then shut it when Uncle raised his other hand.

"You know what, I don't want to know right now. Just get something to eat and go to bed. You look like you need it. I'll deal with you later."

Tense after hearing the tone in his uncle's voice, Zuko made his way to his room, where he caught up on a few hours of sleep. He then made sure to get something to eat, and fit a few hours of training in. It was after he finished running through the last set of katas that Uncle motioned his into one of the smaller rooms, originally used for private meetings between the captain of the ship and his officers.

Zuko sat uncomfortably on one of the floor cushions, while Iroh was on the other side of the table making tea. Several minutes passed as the tea brewed and neither one of them said anything. He watched as Uncle poured the finished tea into two cups and slipped one over to him. Iroh gently blew over the cup and took a sip. Zuko did the same, knowing it would be rude if he didn't. Uncle was already upset with him and he couldn't risk any more.

Finally, Iroh sat back and studied Zuko for a long moment. "So where were you last night?"

Zuko took a deep breath and looked his Uncle in the eye. He'd spent the rest of the morning preparing for this moment. He couldn't lie the way Azula could, but little white lies were easy. Over the past four years he'd used them to slip out of the arms of trouble. Sometimes by twisting things around just a bit, or by saying some of the truth but not all, was enough to get out of a punishment.

"What if I said I was with a pretty girl?"

"I wouldn't believe you."

Dang. So much for trying to humor his way out of the situation. He sighed and tried again.

"All right. I went scouting around the area, looking for information on the Avatar. I went a little farther inland than I originally planned and then of course I had to come back, which is why I was gone all night. I didn't mean to worry you, and I'm sorry if I did, but I'm seventeen years old and I'm capable of taking care of myself. You don't need to worry and wait up for me all the time." He managed to say this more calmly than even he'd anticipated and he realized this was true. He'd gone off intending to get information on the Avatar's whereabouts and where he was headed, which he did; he was gone a bit longer than he'd planned; and he was sorry for worrying his uncle. He hadn't lied.

"Zuko" Iroh sighed, "I will always worry about you."

Zuko dipped his head. "I know. You just don't need to."

"So is that all that happened?"

"Yes!" Zuko said quickly, fighting panic out of his voice. Was Uncle suspecting him of lying? "Yes, Uncle" he said, in a calmer tone of voice, "I swear to Agni that is all that happened last night."

Iroh watched him and Zuko stared at him, trying to look as if he had nothing to hide, yet not look too defiant. It seemed to succeed as Iroh sighed again and sipped more of his tea.

"All right. I believe you. I know you don't like it when I nag at you for things, but I only do it because I care. "

"I know." Agni, how he knew. There were times Uncle could nag worse than an old housewife. But it was a relief to know someone cared.

He'd spent the rest of the day examining maps and making plans. He realized the Avatar hadn't been strategically avoiding him; he had no idea where he was going. How hard was it to know which way the_ Northern _Water Tribe was? He pushed aside thoughts about the child's naivety and focused on making plans.

Zuko became impatient that evening. He usually didn't like it when the sun set, but tonight it couldn't come fast enough. When he was certain that evening that everyone was either asleep or at their post, he put on the mask and slipped away.

This became the routine for the next two nights. After sunset, he put on the Blue Spirit outfit and disappeared into the shadows. It wasn't even that had to find the Avatar's campsite. They didn't try to cover where they went when they were on land and that furry monster was too easy to see in the sky.

Zuko crouched in the shadows, staying hidden much as he had done the night he spied on the Avatar after freeing him from Zhao. The group appeared to be asleep; that giant bison was lying underneath a massive pine tree, with the Avatar curled up on his side on one of the beast's legs. The Water Tribe boy was sprawled a few feet away, snoring and completely dead to the world. The lemur was lying across his stomach. Zuko then noticed something. The girl was gone. He instantly went on alert. She could be awake, maybe even watching him, preparing an attack. He then reassured himself that these people weren't cautious enough to set up a watch, as he'd seen previously, and even if she did attack, he was certain he could take her with his swords if necessary, moon out or not.

Fears settled, he focus on figuring out where the girl was. A splashing sound gave it away. Just upwind of the campsite a small stream flowed. Sure enough, the girl was out there, trying to bend the water. He examined her as she waved her arms about. Her whispers of frustration as the water failed to do what she wanted carried over to where he stood behind a tree. He could tell she was untrained; it was a task for her to just lift the water at times. For a split second, he felt a twinge of empathy for her; he too had struggled with his bending before. The feeling was there for a second before he reminded himself she was allied with the Avatar, and therefore, she was an enemy.

Pity it had to be that way. With her skin gleaming in the moonlight, her long, dark hair flowing down her back, and her blue eyes sparkling despite her frustrations, she _was _a pretty girl. For a savage, anyway.

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Katara settled herself on the cushion in Aunt Wu's home. She'd never met a fortune teller before and since such things weren't in the Southern Water Tribe, it was a foreign concept to her. Still, she was curious and unlike Sokka, she was going to keep an open mind. If nothing else, it would be fun to see what was in store for her.

Aunt Wu entered the room. She was tall and not as old as Katara imagined, though her hair was a silvery color. She smiled at the group though red painted lips. "So who's first?" When none of them responded, Katara stood up.

"I guess me" she said, secretly pleased she got to go first. She followed the fortuneteller into a large, lavishly furnished room and sat down on another cushion.

"Let me see your palm. Whichever hand you like."

Katara held out her right hand and Aunt Wu took it. Her hands were cold and soft. A few moments passed as she studied her palm.

"So…is this stuff real? I mean do your predictions come true?"

"Real? My dear, of course. As long as you choose to believe in it. Have you ever seen a real spirit?"

"Um…no."

"No, of course you haven't. Very few ever have or will. Yet you believe in the spirits, correct? You worship them where you come from?"

Katara nodded. "Mainly the Moon and Ocean spirits."

"You don't see them, yet you believe in them. People who come to me have no idea if what I tell them is true or not, but they believe it anyway. Funny thing is, no matter what fate has in store for us, we make our own destinies."

"Let me try a more 'accurate' way of reading for you." The fortuneteller pulled out a bowl filled with strange looking bones with symbols carved onto them. Katara was afraid to ask where the bones came from.

Aunt Wu gathered the bones in her hands and tossed them before her on the table. They fell in a jumbled heap with certain symbols pointing up.

"You will have a long life; long enough to see at least three great-grandchildren come into the world."

She gestured to another pile of bones. "You will be faced with many different choices and opportunities in your life; each will lead you down different paths, but only by following certain ones will you find happiness. The best thing I can say for you is to always follow your heart. It will not let you go down the wrong way."

Katara interrupted "What about…I mean, I'm curious about…love." She said that last word quietly and lowered her head, feeling shy.

"Of course you are. All the ladies want to know that. Some of the young men too, even if they claim they don't."

"As a matter of fact, I do see a romance in store for you. You will find love right in front of you if you pay attention and let yourself feel it. Love is almost always where we don't expect it to be."

"What's he like? Is he tall? Handsome?" Katara asked eagerly.

Aunt Wu allowed herself a small smile. "I'm afraid the bones don't say that. But his fate places him in a position of great responsibility and power, of which he may come to rely on you to help him get through. He is also a very powerful bender. And no, the bones don't say what element it is he bends."

"Hmmm. A guy in an important position _and_ he's a powerful bender, too? I must be a lucky girl."

"You may be. It is impossible to tell from the bones how this relationship will end; if it will be long or short, happy or tragic, but once it starts, it will be strong and passionate while it lasts."

"Well, thank you, Aunt Wu. For reading my fortune. It's given me a lot to think about." She laughed. "Now I'm probably going to be dreaming about this romance and wondering what my future mystery lover will be like."

Katara didn't know a certain boy was listening in through the door or that he'd done a flip in the air when Aunt Wu said "a very powerful bender".

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Sokka didn't believe any of it. Katara had spent the next few days trying to pry more information about her future romance from Aunt Wu. The woman would just shake her head and say how she would just have to wait and find out. She didn't want to wait! The woman was a fortuneteller; she told about people's futures. Why couldn't she tell her more about this?

"Hey Katara." It was Aang, who came strolling along in a casual way, different from him usual, energetic self.

"Hi Aang. Can you believe Aunt Wu won't tell me anything else about my future romance? I mean, she's a fortuneteller, she tells about people's futures. But she won't tell me anything."

"So…uh, what did she tell you about your romance?"

"That I'll have a strong, passionate relationship with someone who's in a position of responsibility and power and that he's a powerful bender."

"_Really?_ I mean, that's cool. Good for you. Well, uh, I'm gonna go find Sokka now." With that, he ran off. Katara watched him leave with a puzzled look on his face. Aang seemed to be acting weird around her lately. Then again, he was only a kid.

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"Urgghhh!" Katara shouted her frustrations as she stomped a path through the woods that night. Aunt Wu had still refused to give her any more information and Aang had gone from goofy kid to annoying brat within the last few hours. His was either ignoring her or coming and driving her up the wall with silly gestures and such. It had been cute at first and she'd appreciated the attention, but now, coupled with her anger towards Aunt Wu, it was just annoying.

Her feelings didn't ease even after she went to bed, which was why she was now sulking in the woods in the middle of the night. She sat down on a rock and became so focused on her emotions she failed to notice the shadows creeping towards her before it was too late.

"Well, what do we have here?" said a smooth voice behind her. Katara spun around and leapt to her feet. There were at least five Fire Nations soldiers standing before her and she prayed those flicking shadows in the moonlight behind them didn't mean more.

Of course, the one time she doesn't have her waterskin on her, she actually could use it! She looked around, hoping to see the reflection of moonlight in a lake or stream or even a puddle.

The men were moving closer, chuckling, and they reminded her of the men that had previously tried to imprison them.

"Looks like a water wench to me" one of the men said in response to the question asked by his companion.

"What makes you think she's Water Tribe?" another asked.

"Just look at her you idiot! She's wearing blue! Everybody 'round here where's green or brown."

Katara was hoping to run away while the men argued, but there was no way for that to work. They'd moved until they stood in a circle around her. There was nowhere to go.

"You can make this easier on all of us if you just surrender now."

She glared at them, her anger giving her confidence. "I'll never surrender to monsters like you!" she snarled, putting as much venom as she could into her voice.

The men glared back and the one in the center shrugged. "Fine. This should be fun."

Katara braced herself as the men lunged forward with weapons prepared, and for some, fire in their hands. She could only hope they'd just kill her quickly, because that was a better fate than what she feared they had in mind for her.

They hadn't even reached her when one of the soldiers dropped limply to the ground. The others froze for the briefest second to look at their companion. Then, _something_ swooped out of the shadows and attacked them.

In the moonlight, it seemed to be a swordsman for the light glinted off of long blades. Katara found herself caught defenseless in the fighting. She felt a shove at her back and stumbled forward before regaining her balance. She felt hands on her and shrieked in surprise, trying to shove her attacker away.

The wind whistled as a sword sliced through the air and the man holding her fell. She turned and saw another come towards her but couldn't duck under the blow. Something cold and metal- a sword hilt, perhaps- slammed into her forehead. Katara stumbled backwards as bright flashes of light appeared before her eyes. She fell onto the forest floor and heard the sound of metal striking together.

For a moment her eyes cleared, and she realized the men that attacked her were either dead or had fled. She tried to look up, to thank the mysterious swordsman who'd saved her, but the flashes of light began again as a terrible pain filled her head.

As the lights stopped and the world faded into complete darkness, she glimpsed a demonic blue face glaring down at her.

**Warning: very long, rambling author's note ahead! If Iroh seems a little OOC in this chapter with him being upset with Zuko, there's a reason for that. Iroh was known to have been a great general in the army and also a prince, meaning he'd have been used to being respected and obeyed. We know pretty much nothing on his wife, so I assume he raised Lu Ten a lot on his own. Now, he is a surrogate parent for Zuko. Yet in the series we see Zuko be rude and disrespectful and talk back to him. I know none of my elders would let **_**me**_** talk like that to them. Respect seems to be a huge deal in the Fire Nation but Iroh doesn't seem to be disciplining Zuko. If he was, Zuko wouldn't be acting that way. I'm pretty sure the only times Iroh yells at Zuko ( these are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head) is when Zuko tries to send his ship into the Fire Nation to capture Aang despite being banished, when Zuko wants to practice with redirecting lightning, and when Zuko has to choose between freeing and stealing Appa. If his parenting with Lu Ten was the same as it is with Zuko, it makes me wonder a lot about how Lu Ten was, especially as a teenager. I think when Lu Ten died he wasn't much older than what Zuko is now. He looked to be late teens or early twenties in the picture shown of him. If he had a somewhat reckless personality anything similar to Zuko's, well now I'm wondering exactly **_**how**_** Lu Ten died. To lose a child is the most painful thing a parent could go through. They feel as if they failed in caring for and protecting them. A majority of Iroh's grief is plagued with guilt and he doesn't want a repeat performance with Zuko, hence, why he acts how he does. **

**Also, unless Zuko and Azula have younger siblings that we never see, then Zuko is the youngest male member of the royal family. Meaning if he were to die without a son to succeed him, then the royal line would pretty much die with him. If Azula had children (a scary thought), they would have the blood in them, yet they would be a part of their father's family. Bloodlines were always carried on through the men in the family. If Zuko had a son (an interesting idea; if Zuko was a father through all of ATLA, it would certainly alter the story; marriage and childbearing while still in the teens or even younger wasn't uncommon in royalty; would anyone like a plot bunny?) then the royal family's line would be safe as it could be continued through this child. **

**Sorry about the ramblingness. I won't get started on Ozai or Ursa or Hakoda's parenting skills. Otherwise we'd be here for a while. **


	5. Chapter 5

A moan escaped Katara's lips as consciousness came back to her. There was a dull throbbing in her temple and she felt strangely weak. Forcing her eyes open and her head not to spin, she sat up and tried to examine her surroundings.

"Oh, spirits" she whispered. She was definitely not in the woods anymore.

She was lying on a bed in a small, rectangular room. The bed, with its thick, red cotton sheets, was shoved against the wall opposite the metal door. A bamboo nightstand was next to the bed, with a lit oil lamp on it providing the only light in the room. A tapestry bearing the Fire Nation symbol she'd seen on flags hung on the wall over the bed. The rest of the room was mostly bare, but she could make out a small chest on the opposite wall, half hidden amongst shadows lurking in the far corner.

The sound of footsteps on a metal floor from outside caught her attention and she turned to look at the door. She thought she heard voices but couldn't make out anything being said. Then, the door swung open and a tall figure in black and red stepped inside. Katara failed to hold in a gasp.

It was him. The boy who'd come to her village, who tried to take Aang, the one she saw at the Earth Kingdom prison. He was standing right in front of her.

She swallowed back any fear and glared at him as hard as she could. They were all monsters and she wouldn't let this one have the satisfaction of knowing how suddenly afraid she was.

"I see you're awake. How are you feeling?" he asked.

She set her jaw firmly. Did he really think he could act all pleasant and concerned and that they'd get along just fine? She just knew he was trying to play her and that she was likely a prisoner here. She wouldn't make any of this easy for him.

"Where's Sokka and Aang?" she demanded. "Tell me what happened to them!"

"Who?" He sounded genuinely confused.

Katara huffed out a breath in annoyance. "Sokka. My brother. And Aang…"

"Is the Avatar" he finished. "So the airhead has a name."

"Airhead! How dare you! Aang's the Avatar and he's going to stop your people and save the world from being taken over by you monsters. Aang's just a kid but he's better than you'll ever be, Scarface!"

She saw a muscle twitch in his cheek and smirked, knowing she'd struck a nerve. There was no time to savor her small victory though, as he strode across the small room in just a few steps and grabbed hold of her shirt with one hand. She tried not to think that the area he'd grabbed was right over her breasts. She couldn't pull away, as his grip was tighter than iron chains.

The boy leaned forward until his face was right in front of hers and they were eye to eye.

"You" he slowly snarled, "know _nothing_ of me or my people. How dare you call us monsters when you live like savages?"

Katara gasped. "How dare _you_?" she cried. "I'm Water Tribe and we're a proud, strong people. We are not savages. We're not the ones trying to destroy the world!" She tried to pull away and failed.

"We're not trying to destroy the world, we're trying to make it better! The Fire Nation is the greatest civilization in history and we're trying to show everyone else that so they can be better, too!"

Katara actually started to laugh. "You really think you're better than everyone else, don't you? It's funny. Who are you to think you're higher up than me, or anyone for that matter? You're just some ordinary kid, aren't you, trying to play grown-up?"

The boy's sudden smirk caused her to stop laughing. He released her and stood up to his full height, towing over where she sat on the bed.

"Actually, yes, I am higher up than a peasant like you. My name is Zuko, son of Firelord Ozai and Princess Ursa, _Crown Prince _of the Fire Nation, and heir to the throne."

The son of the Firelord? "But…you're just …"

He glared down at her. "Just what, peasant?"

"Don't call me that! For your information, my name is Katara and my father is chief of the Southern Water Tribe." She sat up straighter, pride evident in her voice.

Zuko gave her a mocking bow. "My apologies, _princess_."

Katara decided not to say that the Southern Water Tribe chose leaders based on who was the best warrior and that they didn't have royalty the way other nations did. If he wanted to think and call her a princess, that was fine by her. Plus, she was starting to feel a little dizzy and thinking was becoming too much of an effort.

He noticed. "You're tired. I should leave you to rest."

He turned and opened the door. As soon as he did, Katara desperately lunged. By some miracle, she got past him before he could grab her and ran out the door.

She ran frantically through the halls of the ship, with no idea where she was going. She just knew she had to get out of here and find Aang and Sokka. Using what strength she still had in her body, and trying to ignore the pounding in her head, she raced down a set of stairs. Behind her, she could hear footsteps. Zuko was following her but he didn't seem to be in any hurry. By the sound of it, he was moving as if on a pleasant stroll.

"There's no need to run" he called down to her. "There's nowhere for you to go. You can't fly away like that boy did."

His footsteps were louder now, and she knew he was gaining on her. Her heart was pounding now, and she cursed herself for feeling afraid. She had to be strong if she was going to make it out of here.

Katara ran through a door into another hallway. Maybe she could find her way to the deck and jump off. She was a waterbender and she'd sooner take her chances in the ocean than on a Fire Nation ship. Maybe she could sink the ship? She discarded the idea immediately. She didn't have the skill to do something like that and even if she did she was too tired.

Her heart leapt as she saw stairs with light coming from underneath a door at the top. She prayed it would lead her to where she needed to go.

The spirits had to be on her side because sure enough, it led out onto the deck. She paused for a moment, seeing nothing but ocean and sky. Footsteps behind her made her turn around.

Zuko was standing there, blocking her from going back into the ship.

"Thinking about jumping off?" He taunted her. "Go ahead. We're miles away from the nearest piece of land and waterbender or not you'll never be able to reach it alive. You don't have the strength right now to get that far. How embarrassing would it be, a waterbender drowning?"

"I'd sooner drown than be your prisoner!" she shot back.

"Prisoner? Who said I was going to hold you prisoner?" he asked innocently.

Katara scoffed. "Yeah right. No one had to say anything, genius. It's obvious. You had those Fire Nation soldiers attack me, then you acted like some masked hero, pretending to save me so I'd trust you, and now I'm going to be your bait, so that when Aang and Sokka come to save me, you'll have Aang in your clutches."

Zuko looked half-impressed. "I'm amazed you came up with that. But it's not true. I didn't send those men after you and I hadn't planned on using you as bait. Though it's a good idea; I'll be sure to keep it in mind."

"You MONSTER!" she screamed, because she couldn't think up any other comeback.

As he'd done in the room, Zuko swooped towards her; this time his iron grip latched onto her arm.

"_Stop calling me that_" he hissed, his voice low and threatening.

"Never" she whispered. "I'll never see you as anything but a monster."

She got the last word in this time, as exhaustion from her earlier actions caught up with her. Like a candle being blown out, her mind went dark. The last thing she was aware of were Zuko's hands on her as she went limp in his grasp.

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"So she tried to escape?"

Zuko nodded an affirmative as he accepted a cup of jasmine tea from him uncle.

"Yes, and she actually made all the way onto the deck before she passed out."

Iroh took a sip of his tea. "Where is she now?"

"I put her back in the spare room she was in before…and chained her to the wall."

"Zuko!" The tone in Iroh's voice was a mix of shock and disproval.

"What? She'll hurt herself if she keeps running around like that."

"I don't think chaining a young girl to a wall is the best way to convince her you don't want to harm her. What do you plan to do with her?"

Zuko shrugged. "I don't know, honestly. I'm not entirely sure why I bothered to save her."

"Because despite how you are, or rather, how you want people to think you are, you have a good heart." Iroh gestured to the floor. "Just look at how you are with Hyo."

The dog Hyosuke, or Hyo as they'd decided to call him, looked up from where he lay on the floor at Zuko's feet and wagged his tail. He'd been a shadow for Zuko almost constantly since they'd got him, only leaving his side when Zuko told him to stay and sleeping at the foot of Zuko's bed every night. Zuko smiled and reached down to pat the dog. Hyo gave a doggy grin and the long, brown tail wagged harder.

Iroh smiled as well. The dog had been good for Zuko. He would have gotten him a pet years ago if he'd known how well it would work for his nephew's attitude. Zuko seemed happier than he'd been in a long while, especially whenever he played with the dog.

Still, as wonderful as Hyo was, Zuko needed interaction with people other than just him and the crew. He needed friends his own age. He'd been surprised, and secretly delighted, when Zuko had carried the girl onto the ship last night. Though from the looks of things, they weren't to become friends anytime soon.

Iroh sighed and sipped his tea. A man could only hope.

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Katara had come to and found herself back in the room she'd originally woken up in. She tried to stretch only to find her right arm wouldn't go as high as her left.

A metal cuff was fastened loosely around her wrist, though still tight enough she couldn't slip her hand through. A two foot long chain was attached to the cuff and the other end bolted into the wall by her bed.

_Really?_ Was he so worried about her escaping that he chained her to a wall? What about not holding her prisoner and not using her as bait? He was doing a good job of proving that.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the door swung open and Zuko stepped inside. Her examined her position and smirked.

"Feeling better?"

Katara glared at him. The look on his face was so smug she wanted the slap it off with her free hand. Unfortunately he was standing too far away.

"If I take off that chain, will you still try to run away?" he asked.

"I'd do anything to get away from you" she snarled.

Zuko sighed. "I was afraid you'd say that. Fine. Lieutenant!" he called into the hallway.

A tall, middle-aged man in a Navy officer's uniform with graying hair and rough sideburns entered the room. "Yes, sir?"

"Jee, I want you to inform the crew of this. The girl is to remain in this room. For meals, they can be left in here a few times a day, once at dawn, once at noon, and again at sundown. If she refuses to eat what she is given, then she doesn't eat at all. She must be escorted everywhere on this ship outside of this room. At night, she is to be chained like she is now. The chain's long enough she can still lie down. There are not to be any liquids in this room except for drinks during meals, and that will be only a certain amount. Once in the morning after breakfast and once at night she may wash. She will be limited on the amount of water she gets to use and the time she is in there. Someone will stand outside the door to bring her to and from this room. All of this will be in effect until I say otherwise. Any questions?"

"No, sir. I understand."

"Good. Please go inform everyone else. Write it down and post it in the mess hall if you have to."

The man nodded, gave a quick, respectful bow, and withdrew from the room. As soon as he was gone, Katara unleashed her fury on Zuko.

"How can you? You said I'm not a prisoner but you're treating me like one!"

"You're giving me reason to treat you like one."

"Why don't you just let me go?" she sighed, trying not to sound like she was begging. "What good am I to you? Why'd you bother saving me if I'm going to be such a burden?"

"I can't let you go now. We're in the middle of the ocean. Plus, seeing as you could barely make it to the deck earlier, how would you survive all by yourself? And as for your other two questions, I haven't figured out answers to them yet, but I will."

"Let me know when you do" Katara grumbled. She paused to see if he was going to say anything else. When he didn't she went on. "You mentioned meals and I'm kind of hungry…"

Zuko nodded. "I get it's been a while since you've eaten. It's almost sundown. You can wait a bit more."

With that, he turned and walked out of the room with a swagger that infuriated Katara. As soon as the door closed, she hit the wall with her free hand as hard as she could. The skin on her knuckles split open and she instinctively pulled away. Tears stung her eyes and it wasn't just because of the pain in her hand. She bit her lip and swiped at her eyes, then gave up. She turned over, awkwardly because of the chain, and buried her face in the cotton pillow. Then she cried, just as she had the night her mother died.

**Please let me know what you guys think! I love to get reviews and hear your thoughts. **

**Hyosuke is Japanese for 'helpful solider', which seems appropriate. Special thanks to GaaraHinataWake for naming Zuko's dog and to harronhermy for helping with the conversation between Katara and Zuko. Also, thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or put this on story alert. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Yay! Reviews for this story are now in the double digits. Thank you everybody! **

**I'm sorry I did not update sooner. I meant to do it earlier but the past week or so has been long and hectic. I've got a bunch of other things going on and can't always give this story as much attention as I would like. I will try to keep updates going ASAP, but with everything else it makes be a couple of weeks in between posts. I'm sorry about that, but I promise I won't quit this story. **

There was a banging noise on the door. Katara sat up and quickly composed herself before it opened. Another of Zuko's crew, this man lanky with long brown hair, came in bearing a tray. He set the tray on the nightstand, unfastened her from the cuff, and left, all without saying a word.

Katara rubbed her wrist and scooted over to the edge of the bed. She cautiously removed the lid from the tray. A steaming plate of chicken, rice, and some strange custard-like dish sat before her. There was also a small glass of milk. She started at it for a minute, wondering if it could be poisoned, before hunger overtook caution. She snatched up the set of chopsticks and grabbed a piece of chicken and shoved it in her mouth. She started to chew, then gasped and spit it out.

It was so _spicy_! Katara frantically grabbed the glass of milk and drained half of it before gasping in relief. She took a bite of rice, which gratefully wasn't as strong flavored as the chicken. She ate most of that before returning to the chicken. She ate it slowly, in small bites, washing each bite down with a sip of milk. This helped with some of the flavor, though her mouth still burned slightly when she was done.

With only the custard left, she examined it. She'd never seen food like it before and assumed it was a Fire Nation dish. She took a small bite, fearing it would be spicy like the chicken. It wasn't; rather it had a pleasant, almost fruit-like, taste to it. It was curious, but she ate it all.

Later that evening one of the men came and escorted her down the hall to wash. There was a small room with a bench and a stack of towels and soap. Beyond another door was a strange rectangular space. The man pointed to a knob on the wall.

"Just turn that to the left for the water to come out. You can leave your clothes on the bench and use the soaps and towels. Someone will knock when it's time to go back to your room." With that, he left her alone.

Katara stripped of her clothing, feeling strangely self-conscious. She stepped into the rectangular space and turned the knob as the man had said. Suddenly, a spray of hot water shot down from the ceiling on top of her. Katara gasped in surprise and wiped her eyes. Once she got over the shock, she actually enjoyed the feel of the water on her skin. It puzzled her though, how they'd managed to make water flow by just turning a knob. She pondered it the whole time she was washing up. The water was warm and the soap had a strange, but not unpleasant, spicy scent to it. She was enjoying it so much, definitely the best thing she'd experienced in a while, that she was surprised when she heard banging outside and a man's voice telling her time was up and she needed to come out.

When Katara came out of the shower, wrapped in a towel, her clothes were nowhere to be seen. She looked around frantically, but the only clothing she saw was a neatly folded red silk shirt. A piece of parchment sat on top. Katara crumpled up the paper and tossed it aside before reluctantly slipping on the shirt. It was long enough to hang down to her knees. She didn't want to wear the shirt; it was _red_ of all colors, but at least she was covered. There was no way she'd walk around this ship in just a towel.

She was escorted back to her room in silence and it was none other than _His Highness_ come to chain her in bed for the night.

"Where are my clothes?" she demanded the moment he walked in the door.

Zuko started at her. "Didn't you read the note I left? Your clothes are being cleaned. They were filthy. You're welcome."

She was _not_ going to bother thanking him for that. Instead, Katara ducked her head, shamefaced. "I can't read."

A flash of surprise crossed Zuko's face, but it quickly disappeared. He fastened the cuff around her wrist silently.

"I could teach you." The words left his mouth before he even registered what he was saying.

"What?" She sounded surprised, confused, but not spiteful.

"I…uh. Icouldteachyou" he muttered quickly, embarrassment creeping onto his face. He was grateful there was just the small lamp lit, so there was a limited amount of light in the room.

"I…I'd appreciate it." She sounded hesitant and confused. She was probably considering whether this was another supposed trick of his.

How was he supposed to get out of this? Stupid mouth. Why couldn't he think before he talked?

"Fine. You can come out of here for an hour a day after lunch and I'll teach you, but that's it." His voice switched to the firm tone he used when he was giving orders to his crew. "But if you get on my nerves so much as once while I'm trying to teach or refuse to listen to me, that's _it_. You'll be locked in this room and you'll never come out."

Katara bit her lip to keep from giving him a rude reply. He was offering her an opportunity to learn and to get out of this room for a bit. "Fine."

"Fine." There was a short, awkward silence.

"Goodnight" Zuko said. There was no mocking or malice or anything of the sort in his voice. Just a simple word.

Katara started in surprise and gazed at him for a moment.

"Goodnight."

00000000000

Sitting at a low table in one of the spare rooms, Zuko swept a brush over the silk paper. As if by magic, black characters appeared. Katara watched, fascinated despite herself.

"These are some basic characters. Nearly four hundred years ago, when the world was actually getting along, it was decided to create a system of writing that could be used worldwide, so everyone could understand one another. Before that, each country had its own style of writing and language. Each the Earth Kingdom had multiple ones, so they had trouble communicating within their own borders. This system helped fix those problems. This is the style children are taught in schools. It's a basic, beginner's –level system."

"Each character stands for a certain word or sound. Depending on how it's written, a word can have different meanings. Just by adding an extra sweep, you can completely change a word. For example" he wrote something on the paper, "this means mother. But this," he made another, similar character, "means curse. Understand?"

Katara nodded, even though she didn't quite get it, and realized with some dread that this was going to be much harder than she thought.

Zuko then wrote out the alphabet for her, explaining how a word or letter could be written different ways depending on how it was used. He then showed her how to hold the brush. She took it from his hand, her fingers lightly brushing against his, and she flinched. He said nothing about it.

"Hold it straight up over the paper." He gently placed his hand over hers. "How you move the brush and how much pressure you apply affects your writing. For some, you need to be incredibly light. Others, you want to be a bit firmer and make thicker lines."

He showed her the basic strokes and Katara was amazed at how it just appeared on the paper.

"What did I write?" she asked.

"Your name. This is how 'Katara' would be written."

Katara was amazed. She'd heard her name her entire life but never imagined what it looked like written.

"Can I keep this?" she asked.

Zuko nodded. "If you want."

"How's yours done?" she asked, turning to him.

"My what?"

"Your name. How's it written?"

Zuko made some more strokes on another piece of paper. "There. That's 'Zuko'."

Katara examined the character. The sweeps were done perfectly, each stroke fitting with the next.

"Come on. If you want to learn you need to practice." He handed the brush back to her and grabbed some books lying nearby. As she took the brush from him, their hands touched again. A tremor went through her, leaving her feeling disturbed, but she didn't flinch that time.

Zuko noticed both the tremor, and that she didn't flinch, and felt relieved.

000000000000000

That was how it went for nearly two weeks. Katara was woken at dawn by breakfast being delivered. She was unchained and allowed to eat, then taken to wash up. Afterwards she was returned to her room. At noon, lunch came. She was then taken to a small room downstairs where Zuko taught her. Lessons were difficult as this was something completely alien to her and Zuko had a short temper and was often trying to hold it back. Dinner was delivered at sundown and she was allowed to wash up before bed. It was usually Zuko himself who chained her up in the evening and bid her goodnight.

Apart from her lessons, it was strangely uneventful and Katara had become sick of the small room she was in. The only way she could keep track of the days and time was by her meals. In the evening, before Zuko came, she scratched a small notch on the side of the bamboo nightstand, noting that one more day on this ship had passed.

On the bright side, the more time that passed the fewer and farther in between her and Zuko had arguments. By no means were they actually getting along; she was still a prisoner no matter what he said, but at least they'd gotten to a point they could almost be civil towards one another.

The morning of her thirteenth day on the ship, she was not taken to her room after washing, but up onto the deck.

Katara blinked, her eyes having trouble adjusting to the bright sunlight after having spent so much time in a dimly lit room. The feel of the cool sea breeze and the sight and smell of the ocean instantly brightened her and make her feel more alive. She could feel the ocean almost calling to her. Prior to being captured/ rescued, however it was to be put, she'd practiced waterbending everyday. But in the past days she'd not been able to save for a few moments in the shower when she did so secretly.

Zuko was on the deck with an older man Katara had previously been introduced to. He was Zuko's uncle; Iroh, she remembered his name was. She looked at them both, puzzled.

"You've been pretty good. You haven't tried to run away again." Zuko said. "I-Uncle really- thought you deserved some fresh air." He sounded uncomfortable, as if his words had been rehearsed only now he was forgetting what he wanted to say.

"Oh. Um…thank you."

"Actually, I wanted to see if you would want to make some sort of deal."

"Deal? What kind of deal could I possibly make with you?"

"How about freedom? Well, some. If you promise you'll continue to be good and won't try to escape or anything like that, you won't have to be chained anymore at night. We'll let you move around the ship a little more; maybe even let you go around without an escort. Also, I think it'd be better if you ate your meals in the mess hall with the rest of us from now on. It's just easier instead of someone delivering your food to you. I'll even let you practice waterbending, but only if someone's watching you and you don't disrupt anything else going on. Does that sound fair?"

Katara considered it for a moment. She'd thought over the conditions of her imprisonment before. It wasn't nearly as bad as it could be, she'd supposed. She got three decent meals a day, a surprisingly comfortable bed to sleep on, reading lessons (even if it was with a grumpy, easily irritable teacher) and actually got to keep clean, unlike when she traveled with Aang and Sokka, as it wasn't always an easy task when one traveled around the world on bisonback. Sokka could vouch for that better than anyone.

She quickly stopped herself from thinking about her brother and Aang. She'd done so before and it hurt because she missed them.

And now Zuko was offering her more. She didn't have to stay in that little room all the time now; she'd even get to practice waterbending! Mind made up, Katara nodded.

"Fair enough."

"Good" Iroh said this. "It's settled then." He stood up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've arranged a Pai Sho tournament with some of the crew."

He whispered something in Zuko's ear, who sighed loudly and rolled his eyes, then left the two of them alone with just the wind and waves.

"It's…nice out here." Katara said awkwardly. "Thanks for letting me out."

Zuko nodded but didn't meet her gaze. "You're welcome."

There was a long silence, which grew more uncomfortable by the minute.

"Uncle made tea." Zuko said quickly. He gestured to a red teapot shaped like a dragon and two cups. "If you want some. Its ginseng; not my favorite, but Uncle makes the best tea, so…it's there if you want some." He sat down next to the table it was on and watched her, as if expecting something.

Katara nodded in acknowledgement and moved to join him.

**I had more for this chapter, but it's been hard to write, so I'm splitting it into two chapters. **

**If you're wondering about Katara's statement of "I can't read" and why Zuko is giving her lessons, here you go: **

**I was planning out this story and the thought came to me: How is it in canon Sokka and Katara know how to read? There is no way for them to make parchment in the South Pole as they pretty much had no plants; plus ink would probably freeze. I thought perhaps Kanna could have taught them, having come from the North, which was clearly more advanced, but they didn't have much reading or writing either. The Water Tribes are 'primitive' so to speak; records and stories and such would have been told orally, not through writing. **

**But then we have the waterbending scrolls. The pirate in "The Waterbending Scroll" said he got it up north, but where did the Northern Tribe get the parchment? I thought perhaps the scrolls were made on Kyoshi Island or someplace in the Earth Kingdom and then brought north. The scrolls were probably very old; possibly made even before the war started. After all, the Northern Water Tribe was very solitary; they hadn't had contact with the south in years and they hadn't known the Fire Nation had changed. They still thought armor was the same as eighty-five years ago! **

**The scrolls may have not even come from the Northern Water Tribe. We see waterbenders in the swamp so it's possible there were waterbenders other places. Not all of those that left the North may have gone to the South Pole, because surely Kanna was not the only one that ever left. And after a hundred years of war, mixed races are highly probable. It's surprising we didn't really see many people of mixed descent. YMMV (your mileage may vary) on all of this, these are just some thoughts that came to my head. **

**Please review and let me know what you think! JemiLover101, GaaraHinataWake, and harronhermy, special thanks to you guys because I know I can always count on you to read and review this story. Without your reviews I probably wouldn't be writing this much. **

**BTW, there is a video that helped inspire the idea for this story. It is a Last Airbender Zuko/Katara video to the song "Monster (remix)" by Meg & Dia. I believe the address is www (dot) youtube (dot) com/ watch ? v = 4 c V z- n-p K a 0 (take out all the spaces). **


	7. Chapter 7

**I apologize about taking so long to post new chapters. With school and it being the holiday season now, things can be pretty hectic. **

**The section in **_**italics**_** is a flashback, BTW. **

**Warning: slightly descriptive violence and some mentions of adult themes **

It was completely quiet on the deck, save for the sound of blowing wind and waves crashing against the hull of the ship. Katara poured herself a cup of tea. She was tempted to try and bend it right out of the pot, but Zuko was right there and he looked so tense already.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

Zuko didn't answer. He was staring past her, looking out onto the sea.

"Yes" he said so softly she had to strain to hear him. "I think something is."

He gestured and Katara looked over her shoulder. Coming towards them was a large wooden ship, though it was still hardly a quarter of the size of their warship.

"Pirates." Zuko stated. He looked back at Katara. "Go back in your room. Stay there."

"Why?"

"Katara! Do what I said. Just trust me; you _don't_ want to deal with pirates."

Katara had jumped slightly as he said her name. It wasn't the sharp tone he'd used; more the fact that she still wasn't used to him saying her name. A lot of the time, mostly out of habit, he referred to her as 'waterbender'.

When she still hadn't moved, he grabbed her arm and started to drag her towards the stairs.

"Go!" His voice was the same he used when issuing orders to the crew.

Katara started towards her room. Already, the men were bustling about and headed for the deck. Why were they so concerned about one ship? It was so much smaller than theirs. How could Zuko be sure the people on the boat were pirates? What made them so bad?

She'd made her way to her room, shut the door, and sat on the bed. She only stayed there for a moment before she began to pace in frustration. An ear-splitting banging noise came from above and the whole ship seemed to shudder in response.

Katara realized she too was shaking, and she sank down on the bed again. _What was that?_ A chorus of shouting followed the bang, accompanied by clashing metal.

Forcing herself not to shake, Katara rose from the bed and make her way out the door. She paused at the washroom, filling a cup with water. Careful not to spill a precious drop, she made her way back up to the deck. A horrifying sight met her eyes.

At least two dozen men, all dressed in a mix of clothing, were attacking the crew. The pirates were armed with swords, knives, and unusual looking weapons that she'd never seen before. The Fire Nation fought back with their own weapons and fire.

Across the deck she saw Zuko locked in a swordfight with a pirate. Zuko kicked at the man and he fell. With a slash of Zuko's blades, his head became severed from his body. The headless corpse fell forward, blood spurring from the opening. Zuko leapt over the body and kicked a wave of fire out at another opponent.

Screams filled the air as the pirates were beaten back. Some vainly tried to make their way off the ship, only to be cut down or burned before they even reached the sides.

Katara felt sickness rise in her throat at the sight of all the blood and lifeless bodies. She took a few deep breaths and swallowed. She managed to hold back from heaving her breakfast, but her knees buckled underneath her and she sank onto the floor. She took another breath and closed her eyes to the horror, leaning against the doorframe.

A feeling that she was being approached forced her eyes to snap open and for good reason. A burly pirate, wearing only a pair of rough blue pants and a single, gold, hooped-shaped earring, lunged towards her, a broadsword over his head and a wicked half-grin, half-snarl on his face.

Katara gasped and without thinking threw her hands up. The water she'd previously gathered responded and flew towards the man. It settled on him and firmly fastened on as each drop of water hardened into crystals of ice. Katara's jaw dropped as she realized she'd just frozen the man alive.

The sounds of the fighting were deafening. The entire deck was slick with blood it seemed, and corpses of the attacking pirates were strewn about. Katara leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes again.

"Katara!" She jumped as she felt hands grasp her upper arms and her name being called. She forced her eyes open and wondered for a brief moment if she had fainted. The fighting was over and everything was suddenly as silent as it had been before the attack.

Zuko was the one grasping her arms, kneeling in front of her. His face was completely twisted in rage, but when she looked in his eyes, they softened and she could have sworn she saw, wait, was that…worry? There was no way he had been worried about her!

"I told you to go to your room!" Zuko snarled through gritted teeth. "Why didn't you listen to me?"

"I…I wanted to help." She gestured at the frozen pirate.

"You could have gotten hurt. You could've gotten killed! You don't know how to fight; the battlefield is no place for you."

"Why do you care?" she snapped back. "Not that long ago you didn't care if I jumped off the side of the ship!"

Zuko opened his mouth to speak, then paused. "It's not that I care about you, believe me, I _don't_; it's that you didn't listen to me. That's why I'm angry!"

Katara snorted in disbelief, not caring how inelegant it sounded. "If you don't care, why'd you tell me to go to my room? Why'd you start yelling about how I could have gotten hurt?"

Zuko hissed. He looked so angry Katara half-expected steam to come out of his ears.

With a snarl on his face, Zuko turned and began issuing orders about getting the mess on deck cleaned up. His was in a terrible mood now. Pirates had attacked his ship and he'd been forced to kill again. It was in defense of himself and his men, but still. Zuko didn't like killing and he didn't do it unless he absolutely had to. His mind went backwards, however reluctantly he wanted it to, to a time when he experienced his first taste of bloodshed.

_Irritated, then fourteen year old Zuko made his way through the dark, nearly deserted streets of the port-of-call town they'd docked in. He'd woken up that morning in a bad mood and stayed that way simply _because he could._ He was nearly to where the ship was docked when his path was blocked by three large men. He'd heard them earlier; loud, boisterous drunks chasing barmaids and picking fights in a nearby bar. They laughed as they came closer and the smell of the alcohol on them was overpowering. They were so drunk it was amazing they could stand upright and walk. _

_One of the men laughed. "Wha' we have 'ere, boys? Looks like a young 'un." _

"_Little boys shouldn't be wanderin' 'round afta dark. Go home to mama." another jeered._

_Zuko's already bad mood intensified as the drunks mocked him. _

"_Get out of my way!" he scowled. _

_The men laughed and Zuko became uncomfortable at how close they were getting. Instinctively, he went into a fighting stance, knees bent slightly, one palm facing the men, the other hand drawn back into a fist. "Back off!" he said, trying to sound threatening. _

_They ignored him and assumed drunken fighting poses that would've looked sloppy even sober. _

_Zuko groaned mentally. Dammit, he did not want to have to _hurt _the idiots! _

_The men all lunged at him. It was easy to just dodge; they staggered about, unable to touch him. The only problem was that he was outnumbered and every time he tried to get away from them, another one was there. _

_It felt like a game, and was almost funny, except for the fact they were attacking him. _

_Then the knife came out. _

_He saw the light glint off of the blade. The man holding it, the first one who'd spoken, lunged forward, knife aimed for Zuko's abdomen. He dodged and years of training kicked in. Go on the offensive. Get your opponent before they get you. _

_Jab here. Duck. Dodge. Hit him there. One behind, MOVE! _

_Zuko sidestepped to the right, just getting out of reach of a drunken fist. He lunged forward and a few stabs of his fingers in the right places made the man drop limply to the ground. He turned on the other two. The one without the knife was slightly skeptical, seeing his fallen companion. But he attacked anyway. Zuko dodged the man and brought his hand down, chopping between the shoulder blades. The man flinched in pain and staggered. Zuko struck again, fist connected to the man's jaw. His eyes rolled back in his head and his dropped, unconscious. _

_Only one left now. The man with the knife feinted, then stabbed to the right. Zuko had the knife Uncle had given him on his person; he never went anywhere without it, even kept it under his pillow when he slept. He was loathe to draw it out though. _

_He could've firebended. But that might draw even more attention, and open port or not, most people didn't_ like_ firebenders. _

_Instead he just dodged and attacked the best he could, avoiding that shape piece of steel. He was a member of the Fire Nation Royal Family; they were known for their proud warrior's prowess. He'd been trained in fighting techniques and martial arts since he could walk. He would not be cut down by this drunken peasant. _

_He mentally cursed as the man momentarily got the upper hand and knocked him down. Zuko looked up. The man stood over him, knife raised, ready to finish the fight. _

_Zuko knew he was staring Death in the face. He was a failure then, wasn't he? Prince Zuko, son of the Firelord, cut down by a mere drunken peasant. His father wouldn't be in this situation._ Azula_ wouldn't be in this situation. She'd have burned them all to a crisp as soon as they looked at her. _

_Fire mentally and physically raged. The bright orange and yellow inferno shot from him hand onto the man's face. He screamed. The knife dropped uselessly to the ground. The man continued to scream and vainly tried to pat the fire out. He failed, only managed to make it spread. Zuko sat up and watched, slightly sickened, as the man burned to death before him. _

_The scent of burning flesh brought back horrifying memories and he forcibly pushed them back into the corner of his mind. _

_Uncle found him after what seemed like an eternity, curled up against a wall, unable to tear his eyes off the blacked corpse. He'd done that. He'd ended a man's life. _

_It was all blurry as Uncle comforted him, brought him back to ship, checked him over for injuries, and sent him to bed, after giving him "something to make you feel better". Zuko didn't ask want the liquid was; he didn't want to know, though he suspected alcohol. _

_His last thought before falling asleep, as horrible as it was, was that his father might actually have been proud of him for doing what he did. _

Zuko shuddered at the unwelcome memory. There'd been times after that he'd killed, too. This wasn't the first time his ship had been attacked. Pirates had become even more common in the last century as men became desperate. Zuko definitely wasn't going to mention the Water Tribe warriors that had tried to attack them once. Luckily, that encounter had ended before any blood could be shed and each group had gone their separate ways. Then it hit Zuko. Katara said her father was the chief of the Southern Water Tribe. Those men had been from the Southern Tribe. He groaned. Now the man's only daughter was on his ship. He wasn't doing a very good job with diplomacy, was he?

Zuko made his way towards his room. The bodies had been tossed overboard and the blood could easily be mopped up.

"Zuko" Katara's voice cut through his thoughts. She'd followed him.

He turned to her. "What?" he sighed.

"Um, I…" She gasped. "You're bleeding!" She pointed to his arm.

Zuko looked down. A cut a few inches long ran diagonally across his upper right arm. A thin line of blood slowly trickled out of it.

He tried to shrug the injury off. "It's just a scratch. It'll be fine."

"Zuko let me help. It could get infected or something."

He sighed again and went into his room. Sitting down on the bed, he pushed up his sleeve to show her the wound. Katara gathered a small amount of water in her hand and placed it over Zuko's wound to clean it. Suddenly, a shimmering blue glow surrounded Katara's hand. When she pulled away, the wound on Zuko's arm was gone.

Zuko looked down and examined his arm. "What'd you do?" he asked in surprise.

"I…I don't know. It just happened."

"You have healing abilities" a voice from the door said.

They both jumped. Iroh was standing in the doorway. "You have healing abilities" he repeated. "There are some benders in the water tribes who have this ability. Women in the Northern Water Tribe who can waterbend are taught to use it to heal. I've never seen someone do it without learning, especially at such a young age."

"Uncle? How do you know about the waterbenders?"

The old firebender smiled and his eyes glinted. "I've been around in my lifetime and learned a thing or two. Sometimes learning about other people can help you learn more about yourself." He placed a hand on Zuko's shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Zuko nodded.

Iroh turned to Katara. "And what about you, young waterbender? How'd you like your first taste of battle?"

"I…um. I don't think I liked it at all." Remembering the fighting made her feel queasy. She would have sat down on the bed, except it was Zuko's and he was sitting there.

Iroh smiled reassuringly. "Most don't really enjoy fighting. For those that have experienced it, it's not all that glorious and honorable as it seems on the outside. He patted her shoulder, then left the two of them alone, shutting the door behind him.

Trying to think of something else, Katara examined the room. She realized she'd never been in Zuko's room before. It was slightly bigger than hers, made of the same metal walls and floor. The layout was similar as well. The bed, slightly bigger than the one in her room, was against the wall. It had crimson red sheets with a black fur blanket neatly folded across the end. A bamboo nightstand stood next to it. Along the wall, by the head of the bed, was an unusual piece of furniture. It was like a table, but not as wide, and low to the floor. Five candles were arranged in a line on top as well as a container holding cinnamon-smelling incense. She realized it was an altar. Hanging over it was a strange theater mask of a two-headed dragon with blazing gold eyes, one head blue, the other red. There was a chest for clothing opposite the altar and some neat stacks of books. A woven bamboo rug lay on the center on the floor.

Katara moved over to examine he stack of books. She couldn't tell what most of the titles said, but the picture on the cover of the one on top caught her eye. The book was bound in reddish-brown leather with gold characters on the front and spine. The picture was of a man and woman in a tangled embrace. Behind them, the heads of two dragons, one red, one blue, loomed.

"What's this?" She showed it to Zuko.

He took the book and chuckled. "Love Amongst the Dragons. It's a romantic drama."

Katara stared at him. She never thought that Zuko liked to read; much less that he would read something like that. It sounded more like something women would like.

Zuko must have sensed what she was thinking because he said quickly, "It was my mother's favorite story. I brought it because she used to read it to me when I was little. Except she skipped over certain parts."

"Why'd she skip some of the book?"

"Because that's a copy of the original version. It's very…raunchy. I found that out the hard way when I read it myself when I was twelve. When it came out centuries ago, the author was forced to rewrite it and make it more _appropriate._"

"I don't get it. What could have been a book that was so bad?"

"I'd read a part to you… but it might hurt your innocent ears."

Katara sighed. "Zuko, I've heard bad words before."

Zuko grinned. "I'm not talking about curses. I'm talking about, well…sex. There are descriptions of some sex scenes in the book."

Katara's eyes widened and Zuko's grinned widened. "Oh" she gasped. "People actually write about that?"

Zuko laughed. "Yeah, you'd be surprised."

"Oh" Katara said again. She looked at him. "And you _read_ that stuff?"

"Um…" Zuko started to speak but was interrupted by a knock at the door.

Zuko leapt up and opened the door. Jee was standing there.

"Sir, I think this is something you sound see." Jee pulled out a scroll and unrolled it. Katara gasped.

The scroll was beautifully designed, though somewhat yellowed with age. But what captivated her was what was on the scroll: pictures _of waterbending_.

"We found it in what I guess would have been the captain's quarters. I assume they were going to sell it to the highest bidder."

Zuko nodded. "What else would they do with a waterbending scroll?"

"What should _we_ do with a waterbending scroll, sir?" As Jee said this, he glanced at Katara.

Zuko took it from him. "I'm sure we can find some use for it."

Jee left and Zuko passed the scroll to Katara.

"What's this for?"

Zuko shrugged. "What am I supposed to do with a waterbending scroll? We agreed you could practice. This might actually make you good at waterbending."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

Zuko grinned wearily. Then the smile faded and he went over to his nightstand.

"Here. While I'm in a generous mood…" He held up the necklace he'd found weeks ago.

Katara gasped. "My mother's necklace!"

_Her mother's?_

Katara rushed over and snatched the leather choker out of his hand. "Where you'd find this?"

"At that earthbending prison a while back. I remembered it was yours."

"It belonged to my mother." Katara said quietly. In an even softer tone, she added "She was killed by the Fire Nation."

Zuko was taken aback. "I'm sorry." There was an awkward pause after that.

When Katara didn't response, Zuko spoke. "My mother's gone too."

Katara tore her eyes off of the necklace and looked at him. "She is?"

He nodded. "When I was nine. She just disappeared. I don't know what happened to her or if she's even alive." He shrugged sadly. "At least you haven't had to spend years wondering. You knew."

"Zuko." Katara said softly. She couldn't believe it. She felt sorry for Zuko. He'd had a mother and she was gone. He clearly missed her.

He had feelings. He was…_human_.

Katara felt a little guilty. Sick even. To her, him, and all the Fire Nation equaled monsters.

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That night Katara lay on her bed, looking at the scroll. She was fascinated by it and even excited when she realized she could read parts of the wording on it. Maybe she could just practice the gestures and learn the moves. She mentally reminded herself to try it tomorrow. There was one move-the water whip-that looked like fun. While getting ready for bed she entertained herself with the thought of 'accidentally' using the water whip on Zuko. Mean, perhaps, but still too funny to resist even imagining.

A full moon that night pulled at her, making it difficult to sleep. She finally gave up and went out on deck.

A cool sea breeze greeted her. And in the moonlight, she noticed someone kneeling on the deck. As she got closer, she was surprised to find it was none other than Zuko on his hands and knees, scrubbing at deck furiously.

"I didn't think His Highness did chores" she said playfully.

Zuko's head snapped up. "Oh. Hi."

"Hi." Katara smiled. She never imagined Zuko scrubbing. The thought was almost as entertaining as the water whip.

"I couldn't sleep. I thought I'd do something useful." Zuko said.

"I couldn't sleep either." She went over and sat on a dry spot near him.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked.

"Because…I hate fighting. I hate killing. I hate the blood that's left everywhere when it's over."

"If you hate fighting, then why do you do it?"

"Because sometimes it's necessary. Today was life or death. Today was necessary."

Katara knew if Aang was there he'd talk about how all life was sacred and killing was wrong no matter what. He and Zuko were completely different, she realized.

"I know you say I'm a monster." Zuko was saying. "And sometimes I'd agree with you. When I kill someone, I feel so guilty. I think 'What if they had a family? Kids? I may have taken away someone's father, husband, son, brother, nephew, _cousin_." Zuko started to choke on the last word.

"I know what it's like to lose someone to this war. My cousin died at Ba Sing Se. That happened just a few weeks before my mother left. He and I were close. He was like my big brother. Things weren't the same afterwards. Everything changed for the worst. I can't remember the last time my family was actually happy." He paused for breath. "Sorry. I started ranting. I just needed to get it off my chest and you're so easy to talk to…I mean I barely know you, but you just sit there and look at me with those big blue eyes…"

Katara felt her cheeks burning and wondered if Zuko's were too. It was hard to tell in the dark.

"We're more alike than you think." Zuko said. "I'm a firebender, but I like the ocean."

"You do?" Katara asked in surprise.

Zuko nodded. "Yeah. I mean, the Fire Nation is an archipelago-"

"A what?"

Zuko smiled. "A group of islands. We're fire, but we're surrounded by water. It's funny."

Katara smiled. It was kind of funny.

"Do you ever pray?" Zuko said suddenly.

"Huh?" The question seemed so random.

"Do you pray? To the spirits? Sometimes I do. My mother…she taught me and told me stories about spirits. She taught me how to pray. She told me that the spirits lived in the Spirit World but could look into the physical world and even cross over into it during solstices and equinoxes. Except for the Great Spirits. They're powerful enough to come and go as they please."

"Zuko?"

"Hmmm?"

"You're ah, kind of rambling, again. I think."

"Am I? Sorry, it's late. I don't always think so well when it gets too late. I need to sleep."

"We should probably go to bed then." Katara stood up. "We can always talk about the Spirits later."

"Maybe we shouldn't. Uncle said the spirits don't always like people talking about them and…"

Whatever else he was going to say stopped as Katara placed her fingertips against Zuko's lips. They felt warm and were surprisingly soft. "Zuko. You're rambling again. Go to bed. It's late."

"Oh yeah. Sorry."

They bid each other good night and made their way to their rooms. But for hours later Zuko laid awake in bed. He thought about what he'd said to Katara. He thought about the feel of her fingertips against his lips. They were soft and cool, their touch comforting, much like the feel of water of his skin. When he finally did fall asleep, he could still feel them, as if they were still there.

**Not completely irrelevant with the chapter, but does anyone know why Aang said he looked up to pirates in "The Waterbending Scroll"? Because pirates cheat, steal, and fight; all things against his airbending values. Did anybody get that? Then again, Aang has done all of those things himself. **

**Also, if Zuko seems too OOC from his canon self, that's how I want it. I hated how in the first season he is portrayed as simply a stubborn, angry, stupid, brat-prince and that is mostly the only side we see of him. We get a slightly better picture of him later on, but it still irritated me how clueless he seemed in book 3 around Azula and such. You'd think he'd have learned. I'm trying to make him a bit more like a teenager (just one whose royalty and can kick major ass in a fight ), but I still want him to be mature. I don't see how one could travel around the world with the Dragon of the West and not learn any military tactics or anything like that. I hate in the flashback of "The Storm" how Zuko is, at thirteen, saying "Don't you think I need to start learning as much as I can?", yet Azula, at fourteen, was already to be crowned. I know she's a prodigy and all, but still. So what **_**was**_** Zuko, as crown prince, learning if not how to run a country? So just so you guys know, Zuko is going to seem a little different, maybe even darker, for lack of a better word, in later chapters. You'll see what I mean. Sorry I started to ramble a bit. **

**I think this may be the longest chapter I've ever written. I'm pretty excited about that! **


	8. Chapter 8

**I cannot say enough how sorry I am for taking so long with updates. Whenever I did have time to sit down and write, writer's block would creep in and I'd be stuck. That finally evaporated today. I hope this chapter is enough to make up for it. **

**Disclaimer: No, I **_**still**_** don't own ATLA. **

**I feel I should mention that in this story, the Gaang hadn't gone to Roku's temple. I actually forgot about it when I was writing, so I've found a new way to weave it into the story. It'll come up in a few chapters. Also, the story will start to become major AU, if it's not enough so already. **

**Does drinking alcohol require a warning? Cause it's going to be in this chapter. **

Three weeks. For three weeks that girl had been on his ship. He'd confessed some of his late-night conversation with Katara to Iroh. He told how, looking back on what he said, he felt like he'd made a complete fool out of himself.

Then he wondered when Katara's opinion had come to mean anything to him.

"Her mother died, uncle. " Zuko said. "She was killed by one of _our_ people. I don't understand how Katara could take it. I couldn't stand it when my mother left." He paused. "That's why she would say we were monsters. She thinks we're all monsters for killing her mother."

"Clearly that would make sense. Would you not feel hate, or some other negative emotion, towards someone who took something so important from you?" Iroh asked over his cup of tea. "She is a strong girl, despite everything. She has survived. Zuko, water looks weak but is immensely strong".

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said. Think of the ocean. At times it appears calm and harmless. When a storm comes, it is one of the fiercest and deadliest phenomenons on the planet. The people of the Water Tribes are adaptable. She learns to live with how things are in order to survive. She will be fine."

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_The massive wall loomed over the plains, dominating the horizon. Before it, thousands of troops in red armor prepared for battle. A young man, barely out of his teens, stood at the head of the regiment he was leading, the gold around his collar and the unique headpiece making him stand out from his fellow soldiers. He was no ordinary fighter, but a prince of the royal bloodline. _

_Hours later, dust kicked up by thousands of tramping feet left the battlefield covered. Clanging of weapons filled the air and the heat of flames and pounding of boulders left soldiers shrieking in pain and fear. War was a messy, bloody business. _

_Several yards away from the warrior prince, who was valiantly defending his men, a man dressed in Earth Kingdom brown stood with a powerful crossbow in his hand. The weapon was of Earth Kingdom style, though the steel was superior, having actually been crafted in the Fire Nation. The man lifted the crossbow. One of his golden eyes narrowed as he aimed for his target. He was good at what he did, and rarely ever missed. _

_He did not this time. The bolt flew through the air and drove itself underneath the prince's arm, into an opening in his armor, and stopped lodged in his chest. _

_The prince gasped as he felt the fatal wound go in. He fell to the ground, staring at a sky turned the color of blood. The sound of battle faded, and for a moment, he was back at home as a child, in the peaceful garden of the palace, playing with his family. _

_He gasped again and uttered three, barely audible words: "I'm sorry, father." _

_With a finally, gasping breath, Prince Lu Ten died. _

Zuko gasped himself and sat upright in bed. Cold sweat covered his face and bare, upper torso.

_Where did that come from? _All he knew of his cousin's death was that Lu Ten had been killed trying to breach the inner wall to take Ba Sing Se. But the dream had felt so real; it was as if he'd been standing right there when it happened.

Troubled, he flicked on the bedside oil lamp with his firebending and got out of bed. He stretched, trying to shake off the uncomfortable feeling.

There was no way he'd be going back to bed for a while, he knew, so he pulled out some books and flipped through them, trying to put his mind somewhere else.

The book he was currently looking at was an old history book. He'd opened it at random and read through on Sozin's attack on the Air Nomads, though it was something he'd read many times before. He was almost certain he could recite it in his sleep.

Still, as he read over the chapter, something didn't feel right. A thought, unsure of itself, kept trying to dig into his conscious. _Firelord Sozin, empowered by the very comet that now bears his name, led his loyal troops against the Air Nomad armies. _Zuko read.

Yes, he knew that. But still, there was that thought…

_Sozin went after the Air Nomads because he knew the Avatar would be reborn into them. He was after the Avatar. But…if he killed the Avatar, he'd just be reborn. It doesn't make sense. Sozin would've had to wipe out the entire Air Nomad, Water Tribe, and Earth Kingdom population, aside from any who might be willing to turn and follow him, but killing nearly all of the world's population? It would take years to accomplish. Sozin could've killed the Avatar in the Avatar State, but then he'd have to get close enough to the Avatar and kill him before the Avatar State could. _

Zuko shook his head. He'd been raised his entire life to believe what he was taught and not question it. He was taught to command people and wield power….

_Power. That was it. The Firelords wanted _power_. And the Avatar was the most powerful of all. _

_What if, crazy as it was, Sozin was not after the Avatar to kill him, but for his power? If the Firelords were going to rule the world, they'd need unimaginable power and authority. The Avatar had massive amounts of power he or she could control. But who controlled the Avatar? _

That's _why Sozin grew to hate Roku. He wanted the power Roku had for himself. That's why he called Roku a traitor! Sozin wanted Roku to be a loyal Fire Nation citizen, loyal to _him_. If the Firelords could control the Avatar, then maybe they _could _control the world. Pull the strings. Make the Avatar a puppet. My father wants me to capture the Avatar so he'll have him to control. _

Zuko leapt out of bed. "Uncle!" he shouted. Zuko ran down the hall to his uncle's room, forgetting it was the middle of the night. "Uncle!"

When Iroh finally opened the door, Zuko hurried explained what he'd realized before rushing off down the hall again.

The door to Katara's room flew open and she sat up startled, but bleary-eyed. She looked rather pretty with her hair completely down, falling around her face. _Focus, Zuko._

"Where's the Avatar? Where's he going?" he barked at her.

Katara glared at him, annoyed to have been awoken so late, or early, whichever it was.

"How am I supposed to know where he's at? I haven't seen him in the past three weeks. He's probably looking for me or headed towards the Northern Water Tribe."

Zuko nodded. "You're sure?"

"Yes!"

"Fine, that's all I need to be sure of. Goodnight."

Zuko stepped out of Katara's room, shutting the door firmly behind him. He walked a few paces down the hall, out of anyone's earshot, then motioned for Jee, who'd come out after hearing all the commotion, to follow him.

"Jee, I need you and some men to do something for me."

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It was three weeks and one day since she'd been brought onto Zuko's ship. Last night, he'd barged in on her while she was sleeping and woke her up, asking where Aang was. Like she knew. What was wrong with him?

Zuko seemed unusually calm, despite the events of last night, and greeted her almost cheerfully when she came in for breakfast. Katara resisted the urge to raise her eyebrows at him and sat down. She decided boys were just plain weird sometimes. She'd grown up with Sokka and had spent the past few months with Aang. Boys were definitely weird, and Zuko was no exception.

His voice cut in through her thoughts. "How would you like to get off this ship for a little while?"

Katara stopped spreading jam on her bread and looked up. "Are you serious?"

Zuko nodded. "We're going to stop at a colony town this afternoon. There are some things my men need to do."

"What sort of …."

"Just things, okay!"

Katara jumped. So much for Zuko being calm and cheerful, she mentally grumbled. She informed him she'd love to get off the ship for a while and settled down to breakfast.

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The Fire Nation colony was different than any other place Katara had visited. It stretched three miles along the coastline and another three miles inland. The docks were sturdy, lined in neat rows, with a variety of ships at them. The buildings were made of white limestone and stucco, with red tile roofs, along cobblestone streets. A few buildings, which Zuko informed her were important ones, such as a town hall or noble's mansion, were made with marble. Green trees and shrubs lined some of the streets. All in all, Katara was surprised to find, it was calm and pretty.

"Are all Fire Nation towns like this?" she asked Zuko as she hurried alongside him. Her legs were a little wobbly after having not been on dry land in three straight weeks. She'd nearly fallen walking down the gangplank and Zuko had to hold onto her arm so she didn't go headfirst into the water. A small, strange warmth rolled in her stomach as she felt his hand on her, but she dismissed the feeling as being uncomfortable from while at sea and nothing more.

A red cloak with gold-colored trim covered her Water Tribe attire. Zuko had given it to her before they left the ship and insisted she keep it on. She'd pulled half of her hair up and the bottom half down, upon Zuko's request. "You'll look a little more Fire Nation this way and hopefully no one will ask questions" he had said.

"Pretty much" he said in response to the question she asked now. "Most of the towns are laid out on a grid pattern around a center, like a plaza or something. The main part of capital is built around the palace. Some places, usually in more rural areas, aren't as organized. But this town is along a coast, meaning a lot of different people come through here. It has to be set up like this so it's defendable."

They left the ship at port and moved deeper into the town. It was a beautiful afternoon, with the sun beating down and warming everything, despite it being winter. Zuko led her to the center of the town, a beautiful plaza around a stone fountain. Brightly colored booths lined the plaza with merchants behind them, selling their wares. Colored tunics, mostly in shades of red, brown, and gold, as well as some black and grey, filled Katara's vision. A gentle breeze blew in from the ocean, bringing the smell of sea salt, mixed with spices, incense, and fresh fruit. The voices of dozens of people, the sounds of animals, the noises from the bazaar, and the faint roaring of the sea, left Katara's ears ringing.

"There are so many people here" she commented to Zuko, feeling the need to half-shout to be heard.

"This is Jinxing. It was one of the first, full-Fire Nation colonies established and it's one of the largest. It's also a main trading center and naval port."

They spent the afternoon examining the market. Katara tried to ask what his men had been sent to do, but Zuko avoided the question, simply stating "they're on leave until tomorrow morning", and refusing to answer it further. He tried to explain to her how the Fire Nation's trade and economy worked, but Katara only heard half of it. He talked her into trying different samples of food, including a piece of meat so horribly spicy Katara was left gagging.

As the sun began to lower and afternoon turned into evening, they made their way back through the town, stopping at a small tavern to eat. Zuko promised not to let her get anything too spicy and suggested she try a dish made with chicken-pig and steamed sea kumquats. Katara was thrilled to discover that the kumquats were very similar to her grandmother's stewed sea prunes. She told Zuko that and he raised an eyebrow, asking what a sea prune was.

After dinner, they sat in the center plaza by the fountain, the bazaar having ended for the day. With the moon glowing down on them, the gentle rhythm of the fountain behind them, and the light from nine torches surrounding the fountain and reflecting in its waters, it was quite nice out.

Katara didn't want to go back to the ship for as long as possible. She was still trying to grasp that she'd spent the entire afternoon and evening completely alone with the Fire prince and she _enjoyed_ herself.

Zuko sat down next to her and handed her a glass. "Thanks" she said. "What is it?"

"I just got you mango juice. You seemed to like it. I figured you wouldn't want alcohol."

"_You_ got alcohol?"

Zuko nodded and took a swig from his glass. "It's just beer. This isn't even heavy stuff."

"But you're a kid!"

Zuko shot her a look then, clearly offended. "I'm seventeen. Technically, in the Fire Nation, one is considered an adult at sixteen, or when they marry, whichever comes first. You can drink legally at fifteen in the Fire Nation."

"That's insane. How old do you have to be to join the military then? Do they let kids in?"

Zuko looked angry at the tone of her voice. "It's our _culture_. And a person can enlist in the military at fifteen, or earlier if they have permission from their parents or guardian."

"So you let fifteen year old kids-people my age- go off and fight in your wars?" Katara demanded of him.

"You're expecting a boy who's what-eleven, twelve, maybe thirteen- to _save the world!_ How is what we do so wrong when the rest of the world is expecting a child to save them all?" Zuko let out a breath, with a touch of steam, as he realized he'd been shouting. Thankfully, few people were out and hadn't heard them.

An older woman nearby, who clearly hadn't heard the topic of their conversation or chose to ignore it, smiled encouragingly at them. "Don't worry about whatever it is you're fighting over. Why, when I first met my Hujeng, Agni rest his soul, we didn't get along at all. I'm sure you and you're girlfriend can work it out."

"What?" Katara yelped, the same time Zuko shouted, "She's _not_ my girlfriend!"

The woman simply chuckled and smiled as she walked away.

Katara huffed in annoyance and pulled the cloak around her tighter as she stalked away.

"Where are you going?" Zuko shouted after her.

"Away from you for a while! I'll meet back here later." Of course, it crossed her mind that she could just run away from him- but she had no idea where in the world she was, literally, aside from some Fire Nation colony on the edge of the Earth Kingdom. Plus, the ship was headed north towards the Northern Water Tribe, and it was possible she'd have a better chance of seeing Aang and Sokka again if she stayed on it. She glanced over her shoulder. Zuko had made no move to chase after her, and was sitting on the edge of the fountain, glass in hand.

Zuko could be such a pain. She just prayed she didn't come back to find him drunk, or worse. She was _not_ helping him back to the ship if that happened.

She paused to see where she was and found herself outside what appeared to be some sort of restaurant. She pushed the heavy door aside and went it. Despite being dimly lit, it had a cheerful atmosphere to it, and it was away from the damp ocean breeze. Katara settled herself at a small table in the corner and gave a coin to the waitress in exchange for a drink. _Maybe I'll learn something about the Fire Nation that will be useful._

She was lucky, because no sooner than the thought crossed her mind, she heard a man's voice.

"Poor kid. Scarred by his own dad."

Katara's eyes pricked. Who scarred their own child?

Another voice entered her hearing. "Yeah, Ozai's losing it. I mean, what sane, non-evil person burns their own son?"

"Like I said, poor Prince Zuko."

Katara had to actually sit on her hands to stop herself from putting one over her mouth. Zuko was the kid they were talking about! She thought about the horrible red mark that ran over the left side of Zuko's face. She never dared even bring it up because she could guess without asking it would probably be a painful topic.

The first voice she heard was speaking again. "I heard rumor's Ozai's going to leave the throne to Azula. Agni help us if that happens."

"If that happens, I'll stay right here in the Earth Kingdom. The princess is far worse than any of them, I've heard."

"Be quiet you two! That's treasonous talk." This was a new voice, weak and mouse-like, thought it could have simply been because they were trying to whisper. "The Firelord and his family are good people who are just trying to improve the world!"

The other men were laughing now. "You're so naïve. You really believe all that propaganda. The Firelord's trying to take over the world!"

_There are people who don't like the Firelord!_ Katara thought with excitement. _If there were more people out there like this, maybe we could get their help. _

Katara tried to hear more from the men, but they'd steered their conversation over to some gambling game. Figuring she'd get nothing useful out of that, she finished her drink and left. But the man's words about Zuko's own father scarring him left her frightened. Who did that, especially to a child? She considered asking him about it, but figured he'd probably not want to talk about it. After all, it hadn't been mentioned once during her time with him. He'd believe she was pitying him, even though she really was, and he'd shut down.

Though Zuko had had a bit of alcohol tonight, and possibly more after she left…

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"I'm sorry about last night" was the first thing Zuko said to her the next morning. He hadn't seemed drunk when she returned to him, but neither one of them spoke on the way back to the ship or for the rest of the evening, except to exchange curt goodnights.

"I letting you go back to the Avatar" was the next thing he said.

Katara's jaw nearly dropped.

Zuko went on. "Actually, I was hoping you'd do something for me. I want you to give him a letter."

"A letter?"

"Yes, you know, words on a piece of paper addressed to one person? I want to offer him a truce."

Katara couldn't believe her ears. "Were you drunk last night and it's still just leftover?"

He smiled. "No. At least I don't think so. I'm actually thinking more clearly than I have in a while."

"So what's in the letter?"

"You'll find out. Basically, the Avatar trusts you. And you've spent some time around me. I want you to try and convince him to make a truce with me. I'll offer him my protection against Zhao and help him."

Katara wasn't sure she understood as Zuko explained what he wanted from her. She chewed the inside of her cheek. "I don't know…"

"Please Katara" Zuko said softly. He laid one hand on hers and when she looked him in the eyes, they softened to a warm golden-brown. "Please trust me. I need you to do this."

Katara's mind flashed back to what the man had said about Zuko and his scar. "Okay."

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Two men in Fire Nation Navy uniforms sat at a table in the corner, partially hidden from a particular bald boy and his Water Tribe friend, but still within earshot. Some people gave them nervous glances, but this _was _an open port and people from all over came here. It seemed, for once, luck was on their side, as the Avatar just happened to stop here as well.

One man took a swig of his beer and set the tankard back down. "Not bad, but not as strong as Fire Nation whiskey."

"Yeah, what I wouldn't give for some of that now."

"Or anything from the Fire Nation really. The weather, the food, the women…"

"Speaking of women," his companion replied, purposefully raising his voice to carry to the table nearby, "I hear the prince has himself of pretty little waterbender on board. Found her somewhere-Makapu? I can't pronounce the dang Earth Kingdom names."

A gasp came from the nearby table. The men, with their faces turned away, grinned.

"I heard the same. I know he was looking for the Avatar, but I'd say she's good enough instead. She's supposedly a sweet-looking little thing, though maybe a bit feisty."

Laughter carried over. "She's nothing the prince can't handle."

The men continued their conversation as the two boys hunched over their table and spoke to one another.

"Did you hear that Sokka?"

"Yeah. It means that the Fire Nation has my sister."

"I bet if we check the ships out the dock, we can find which one she's on and bust her out."

"It could be a trap, but if it means a chance to save Katara, we have to try."

Jee joined the men sitting at the table. "Good work, men. The prince will be pleased."

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Zuko and Katara were on the deck of the ship the following morning. Katara had just tucked her treasured waterbending scroll in her shirt along with the letter for Aang, having finished looking over the move she wanted to try.

Taking a deep breath, she lifted her hands, calling the water to follow. A thrill went through her as it obeyed. She moved her body like the scroll had shown her and-

"Ow!" The water had just wacked her in the face.

Zuko snickered and Katara shot him a look.

"Don't laugh at me!" She waved her hand and a splash of water smacked Zuko in the face as well. Zuko sputtered for a moment, then bent down into a fighting stance, flame in one hand, signaling her to do the same with the other.

Katara smiled. Zuko was far better at sparring then her, but he'd gone easy enough on her, when they tried a few times in the past. She was feeling more confident in her abilities and had even learned a few new tricks.

She raised water to block any flame Zuko sent at her, but the attack never came.

Zuko felt it before he ever saw where it came from. A powerful gust of wind sent him sprawling over and slamming into the metal door that led to the hull of the ship. He fell to the deck floor, stunned, and gasped air back into his lungs.

He heard Katara shout, but it wasn't his name. _Aang_ she said. It was the Avatar.

There was more shouting and scuffling noises, but Zuko wasn't able to comprehend it. As he managed to stagger to his feet he wondered if he had hit his head when he made contact with the door.

He shook his head to clear it and looked around the deck. Katara was gone. The deck looked pretty much the same it had a moment ago, only now the waterbender wasn't on it.

As he looked up, he could see the outline of the bison as it flew away. They'd taken her back. The Avatar had taken her from him.

He had a strange déjà vu feeling, like when he saw the Avatar fly away the first time at the South Pole. Only this was different. Sadder, lonelier somehow. And yet, his plan was going perfectly.

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After several minutes of flying on Appa, Katara was finally released from her brother and Aang's grasps'.

"It sure took you guys long enough to find me. I was starting to think I'd been abandoned. "

"We would never-" Aang started to protest.

Katara smiled reassuringly. "Aang, I was kidding."

"Oh." The airbender said. "We'll we were looking for you. But then we saw that the volcano at Aunt Wu's was going to erupt. We had to save the village.

Sokka interrupted excitedly. "And you'll never guess who we saw after that!"

"Who?"

"Bato!" Sokka shouted. "He was at an abbey. He was going to meet up with Dad and the others and I wanted to go with him, but of course we had to find you first."

Katara knew how much seeing their father again would mean to Sokka and the chance he had given up for her. "Oh Sokka…"

"Yeah!" Aang stepped in. "And then we were at a firebending festival and met this crazy firebender named Jeong Jeong. I wanted to learn firebending from him, but he said I wasn't ready and then Zhao showed up and we had to run. And then we heard these Fire Nation guys talking about a waterbender on a Fire Nation ship and rescued you."

"I can't believe those people had you in their Fire Nation clutches this whole time. Of course they would be so low as to use you as bait. I'm glad you were fighting them."

"Actually, they didn't kidnap me. I was rescued. And the guy you blasted away is named Zuko."

"Zuko?"

"Yeah. Remember? The tall, Fire Nation guy that came to our village?"

"You mean the scary one with the scarred face?" Aang asked, almost fearfully.

"Yep."

Sokka's jaw dropped. "What?" both he and Aang gasped at the same time.

Katara nodded. "Yeah. When we were at Aunt Wu's village, I wandered away. Fire Nation soldiers attacked me and I couldn't escape. Then Zuko showed up out of nowhere and rescued me."

"It was probably just a trick so you'd see him as a good guy" Sokka said, disbelieving.

"That's what I thought at first." Katara paused, not sure how to phrase what she wanted to say next. "I've gotten to know Zuko a bit over the last few weeks. He's not as bad as I thought."

Aang's face twisted into a look she couldn't read and Sokka scoffed.

"He's _Fire Nation_, Katara. They're all bad."

"Um, speaking of the Fire Nation," Aang said casually, "we've got to go there."

It was Katara's turn to gasp and Sokka sighed, "No, Aang, we don't."

"Aang had some crazy dream the other night about a comet that's supposed to bring apocalyptic doom!" Sokka wiggled his fingers as he said "doom".

"I think it's a sign or something." Aang insisted. "I've got to go to Roku's temple in the Fire Nation and talk to him about it."

"Aang we can't go to the Fire Nation. One, it's too dangerous. Two, even if you did get to the temple, Avatar Roku's been dead for over a century. How could you talk with him?"

"That's what I said!" Sokka cried.

Katara ignored him and went on. "Three, I already know about the comet."

"You do?" both boys asked in wonder.

"Yeah. I…I heard some of the men on Zuko's ship talking about it." This was in fact, true. Zuko and his crew had talked about, and seemed obsessed over, some piece of space rock, she thought, until she found out why. "It's called Sozin's Comet because Firelord Sozin used it to…" she paused and looked at Aang.

"To wipe out the Air Nomads" Sokka finished for her.

She nodded. "Apparently, it can increase an individual firebender's power tenfold when it's in the Earth's atmosphere. A normal master firebender practically becomes a demigod. It's supposed to be coming soon and there are rumors Ozai's going to use it to end the war.

"Ozai?" Aang asked.

Katara nodded. "_Firelord_ Ozai. Also, Zuko's dad."

Both Aang and Sokka make horrified faces.

"Zuko's the son of the Firelord?" Aang gasped.

"Yep. He's a prince."

Sokka reached over and put an arm around his sister. "So what _else_ did you learn on Prince Crazy's ship?"

Katara pushed his arm away. "He's not crazy, Sokka. Actually, I think he might be a good guy."

"Were you _brainwashed_ while you were on that ship?"

"_No!_ Zuko asked me to give this to you." She pulled out the letter and handed it to Aang. "He wants to make a truce."

"It could be a trap." Sokka insisted.

Katara shook her head. "I don't think so. He seemed really sincere about it. I think he's realized the wrong his country's done and wants to make up for it."

Aang looked hesitant. "I'll…I'll have to think about it."

Katara breathed, reminding herself she was loyal to her tribe and wondering if aiding Zuko in any way was making her a traitor. "Well, you'd better decide soon. Because the Fire Nation Navy is sending a fleet to destroy the Northern Water Tribe."

**This chapter was so much fun to write! And seeing as I wrote a majority of it today, I am quite proud of it. **

**If you had trouble imagining the Fire Nation town, just think of the town in "The Runaway", how it is all set up around that fountain. The town would be a smaller version of that with the ocean on one side. **

**Iroh's line at the beginning of the chapter, "Water looks weak…" came from one of my teachers when telling us about Daoism. **


	9. Chapter 9

"What do you mean 'destroy the Northern Water Tribe'?" Aang cried.

"I mean, the Fire Nation is going to come with a bunch of ships and destroy the city and take or kill everyone there, or at least the waterbenders. At least, that's the idea I got when I heard it mentioned."

"So basically they're doing the same thing they did to our village, only on a much larger scale." Sokka said to confirm things.

Katara nodded an affirmation. "A few days ago, some men from Zhao's ship ran into some of Zuko's men at a port. They bragged about what they were going to do, and Zuko's men told him. That's how I heard about it."

She turned to look at Aang, who was unusually quiet. "See Aang, if you take up Zuko's offer, we could defend the Water Tribe."

"What makes you think Zuko would defend the Water Tribe? Or that they'd accept help from a firebender?" Sokka asked.

"Zuko's the Fire Nation prince. Meaning he knows all about the Fire Nation; what they'd probably do in a massive-scale attack and how to defend against it. And I know Zuko _hates _Zhao. So he'd probably do anything to get at him. Plus, if the Water Tribe knows he's an ally of the Avatar, then maybe they'll accept his help."

"Maybe this truce is a good idea" Aang broke his silence. "If Zuko can be on our side, maybe we can convince people to end the war; maybe they'll see there are good people in the Fire Nation. And, Zuko's the prince, so maybe he can convince his people to stop attacking the rest of the world. We might be able to get the whole war to stop without any violence!"

"I don't know…" Sokka started. "Hey, what's in that?" He gestured to the letter in Aang's hand.

"I dunno." Aang sat down cross-legged between the two Water Tribe siblings and broke the red seal holding the paper closed. He cleared his throat and read it out loud.

_Greetings Avatar Aang, _

_I believe that by now, you are aware of the hostilities that have been going on within the world for the past century while you were…away. My country, on orders by my great-grandfather Firelord Sozin and his descendants, has been invading the world in an attempt to conquer it into one mighty empire. _

_Nearly all people within our country have been taught that the Fire Nation is the greatest civilization in history and that this war is in fact, our country's way of spreading it's greatness to share with the rest of the world. Be aware, many people will not turn from this belief easily, should you ever try to convince them otherwise. _

_However, I have become aware, through my own resources, which I will not share, that there are some people, mostly within the lower ranks, who were not given this type of education. They have no desire for war and have lost their faith in the Firelord, as they are left starving while the goods they produced and any money they earn, is being taken to support the war effort. As I am currently unable to go to the Fire Nation directly, I cannot address this problem myself. (This is NOT a suggestion that you rush over; you would be captured instantly and brought to the Firelord and we can't have that, can we?) _

_However, there is something I can do, and that is aid you. You may be wondering why I would suddenly choose to aid someone considered by my country to be an enemy. I can list several reasons: _

_My father, the Firelord, seems to not recognize one thing that history constantly shows us: massive empires cannot survive, and flourish, for any long period of time before eventually collapsing. Even if by some way, the entire world was placed under one rule, it would never survive. And when it would collapse, it would affect not only the Fire Nation, but everyone in the world. The world cannot be placed into one empire simply because its own survival would not allow it. _

_I am aware you were raised in an Air Temple, and therefore, believe life is sacred and violence is not the answer to problems. Having been raised in a country made for war, my mentality is the exact opposite. Fighting is simply how we solve our problems. Since you would be unwilling to fight, your best bet is to take down the Firelord without fighting him. As the Great General Zhu Sen would say 'It is more important to outthink your enemy than outfight him.' As you obviously have no experience with military tactic- _"Hey!" cried Sokka- _this is another field in which I would be an advantage to you. I have been trained in military tactic and fighting since I was four and am well aware of my countries' capabilities, as well as its weaknesses. _

_Admiral Zhao, as well as nearly every other military personnel in the Fire Nation, is after you. As I consider Zhao to be a personal thorn in my side, I would be more than happy in providing you defense against him. You were not within his grasp long enough to understand the cruelty he is enable of inflicting. Were he not ruthless and power-hungry, he never would have been made an Admiral. _

_I believe Firelord Ozai, my father, is an ineffective ruler of the Fire Nation. According to my sources, he was done nothing in aiding the struggling lower classes, the middle classes are on the line of poverty themselves in some areas, and some of the elite have even become disgruntled with his rule. I will not argue if someone says the Fire Nation is in need of a new ruler. However, it is my sister, Princess Azula, not I, who is first in line for the throne. Beware of her. She is unbelievably ruthless and manipulative and she would never hesitate to harm or take something you love simply to get what she wants. Should she ever ascend to the throne, Spirits help us, only more utter chaos would ensue. She would possibly be an even worse ruler than any of the Firelords previously. Should we make a truce and the war come to an end, I simply request that I or my uncle, General Iroh, be allowed to assume control of the Fire Nation. With your approval to back us, our claim would be legitimate and I promise you, we would not allow the Fire Nation to continue in its ways. _

_I will allow you to consider this offer. Should you accept, my protection and abilities, to my best effort, are yours. _

_HRH Zuko_

_Prince of the Fire Nation _

"I don't believe it!" Sokka cried. "It's got to be a trap. He's clearly only interested in getting power for himself.

"But he sounds like he cares about his people. I think maybe he'd be good for the Fire Nation."

"Are you insane? Both of you, listen! Zuko. Is. _Fire. Nation. _As in he's evil!"

"He doesn't sound so bad in his letter. I think we should at least try and talk with him."

Sokka folded his arms. "Nobody ever listens to me!" he muttered.

0000000000000000

Zuko had written the letter over twice. He wasn't satisfied with it completely, but as he was lost on how else to write it, he let it go as-is.

His plan had started perfectly. Jee had come back to him, reporting that the men had announced the waterbender's presence on their ship within the Avatar's earshot. Then, said person showed up and took Katara with him.

He wasn't going to admit that the ship seemed a little dull without her on board; that he'd become accustomed to their reading lessons and practice spars. He was most certainly not going to admit that he might actually _miss_ the waterbender. If she had stayed maybe they could have-no! He wasn't even going to finish that thought. There was no way she'd ever be attracted to someone like him that way, or any way. After all, she'd called him a monster.

He'd pushed the thoughts away by focusing on his plans. If the Avatar refused his offer, Zuko still had his ship and was aware of where the Avatar was going. He could simply follow and plan out a way of capturing him. But Zuko had an unusually good feeling that the boy would accept. And if he did, that would mean Zuko could get onto the boy's side and gain his trust, just as he'd gotten Katara to do as he wanted. He could perhaps get some inside knowledge of the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe tactics that he didn't already have and present it as information for the Fire Nation to win the war. He could convince the boy to come with him and then take him to his father, thus completing his quest and restoring his honor and place as crown prince and heir. And even if (and it was a large if) Zuko for some reason chose to go to against his father, he would already be on the Avatar's side and able to provide him with information on defeating Ozai.

As they said, if you can't beat em, join em. Either way, he'd win. And one way or another, he'd become Firelord. As his mother had always told him, it was his destiny. _One day, she said, you'll sit on the Dragon Throne. You will be Firelord. I promise you. _

_What makes you think that? Zuko, who was only seven at the time, asked. _

_A mischievous look came into him mother's eyes. She'd kissed on the forehead and replied, Your uncle's not the only one the spirits grant visions to. _

Zuko settled himself in front of his altar and focused his mind back on the present. He carefully measured out the incense into a bowl before lighting it. Soon, the spicy aroma filled the room. The candles' flames moved up and down in sync with Zuko's breathing as he meditated.

**I apologize this is so short. But school has started up for me, and I may possibly (hopefully) be getting a new job, so I won't have as much time to work on this, and I don't want you guys to have to wait too long. **

**General Zhu Sen is based off of Sun Tzu, a Chinese warrior-philosopher credited with writing "The Art of War", from which that line was taken. **

**A random thought entered my mind the other day: What if what happened to the world in the movie "The Day After Tomorrow" happened in the Avatar World? Who would survive? I'd love to know your guy's thoughts on this one and I challenge anyone to write a story about this (just please note you got the idea from me. Thanks). **


	10. Chapter 10

**I am very sorry for not updating in so long. I got really caught up with school and some original stories I'm writing, but I promise I never forgot this story or all you wonderful readers and reviewers. **

"So what do we do?" Sokka asked the next morning. They'd stopped in a small town in the mountains last night.

"Do 'bout wha'?" Aang asked, his mouth full of the porridge they'd gotten from the local inn.

"I mean about Prince Jerk. Do you really wanna take him up on his offer?"

"Ummm….I'm still kinda thinking about it."

Sokka opened his mouth to argue, but Katara cut in. "This is a big decision. Aang doesn't need to be rushed into making it."

"But if we _are _going to make it, don't you think we should_ before _we get to the North Pole? You know, so we can get a plan in place?"

"Sokka, it'll be weeks before we reach the North Pole. We have time" Katara said, taking a bite of her breakfast.

"No, we don't have time. We don't know how long it'll take for the Fire Nation to plan their attack and reach the Northern Water Tribe or exactly when they plan to. For all we know, they may not be attacking till this summer. But we need to get there as soon as possible so we can warn them and they can prepare-and so Aang can get started practicing waterbending."

"We're going as fast as we can. But Appa needs to rest every once in a while. We'll be fine." Aang said. With that he went off.

"Where-? Oh, never mind." Sokka grumbled.

Katara petted Momo, who sat in her lap. She felt a little guilty realizing she hadn't thought much of the lemur at all when she'd been away, even though he was part of their family too.

She handed Momo a piece of fruit. "So does Aang still want to go to the Fire Nation? To figure out his whole comet dream, I mean?"

"Who knows? The kid's mind goes from one thing to another so fast, it's like a leopard seal in the water. You just can't keep up."

He scarfed down the rest of his breakfast. "C'mon we need to get supplies and get out of here."

"Aang was supposed to keep track of what we needed to get."

"I know. That's why we need to go."

0000000000

"How about a necklace, for a pretty lady perhaps?" a merchant asked, holding one of his wares up.

Aang noticed the carving on the necklace. "This is an air nomad necklace! It must be a hundred years old! Where'd you get it?"

"Ah, but it's not! I actually got it in the mountains. The man who had it traded it to me in exchange for medical supplies." He started to whisper. "Do you want to know a secret?"

Aang nodded and leaned forwards.

"I think the man may have been an airbender!" whispered the merchant excitedly.

Aang's heart leapt. Was it possible; was he really not the last airbender?

Before he could reply, Sokka and Katara appeared. The merchant tried to talk Sokka into buying some of his goods before Katara dragged him away, chiding that they needed to save their money for important things, not little trinkets.

Half an hour later, they'd gotten nearly everything they needed. While Sokka bartered with a merchant over the price of new fishing hooks (they'd lost some of theirs), Katara wandered over to the neighboring stall.

It was filled with books and scrolls. Katara became excited when she realized she could read some of the words.

"Anything I can help you with miss?" asked the elderly man standing behind the stall.

"Ah, no. I'm just…" she was about to say "looking" but stopped. Lying in front of her was a very familiar book. Red and blue dragons were flying in circles on the cover.

"Is this "Love Amongst the Dragons"?" she asked, picking up the book. It was similar to Zuko's version, only slimmer and not as worn.

"Yes, only it's the abridged version, I'm afraid. But still a good read."

Katara chewed the inside of her cheek. She scolded Sokka when he wanted to buy useless trinkets, but surely this wouldn't be useless! She could use it to practice reading and when she saw Zuko again, she could impress him by how much she'd learned and that she knew some of his favorite story.

"Most people don't want to buy Fire Nation literature. But if you really want it, I'll sell it to you for twelve copper pieces."

That seemed a slightly hefty price for a book, but still…

"How about six?" she asked.

"Ten."

"Eight. That's my final offer."

The man nodded. "Fair enough."

Katara counted out the eight copper pieces and handed them to the man. She carefully put her new book inside her bag. Excitement danced around in her stomach. She couldn't wait to look at it.

000000000000

Aang sat up from where he lay on Appa's tail. The three-quarter moon shone in the night sky, illuminating their little camp.

He silently leaped off of Appa. The bison grumbled as he watched his master slip away.

"Shhh. Don't worry, buddy. I'll be back in a bit. There's just something I need to check."

Aang had snuck off to the merchant's booth that afternoon while Katara and Sokka were getting the last of the supplies. He'd gotten the location of where exactly the man got the necklace-a cave in the mountains not too far from here. Aang had to check it out. He had to know if he was the last airbender.

He was sure to be quiet as to not wake up Sokka and Katara. When he was sure he was far enough away where they wouldn't hear him and wake up, he speed off, using airbending to make himself go faster. He didn't notice the flashes of red in the bushes he passed, glinting in the moon's light.

He wasn't sure exactly how long it took to reach the cave. The mouth was deep into the side of a sharp cliff and half hidden by trees. It seemed like a good enough hiding spot. Surely the Fire Nation wouldn't have thought to look for airbenders in here.

Aang descended into the cave. "Hello? Are there any airbenders in here? My name's Aang; I'm one of you and I'm the Avatar!"

There was no response, save for a bit of water dropping from the ceiling.

"Hello?"

There was a scuffling noise behind him, followed by the clink of metal. Aang spun around, too late, as the glow of several flames lit up the entrance to the cave.

Admiral Zhao stood at the entrance to the cave, with half a dozen masked soldiers behind him. Off to the side, stood the very same merchant Aang had seen earlier, clutching a bag in his hand.

Zhao gestured to the merchant. "You did well and you've been rewarded. Now get out of here."

The merchant scuttled away without so much as a backwards glance at the boy he'd betrayed.

Zhao's smug grin filled Aang's vision as the man stepped in front of him. "Well Avatar, it looks like once again you're in my clutches. And this time your little masked friend isn't here to rescue you."

"But we are."

Zhao spun around at the sound of the voice. Aang peered around him. "Sokka! Katara!"

Zhao snarled at the sight of the two Water Tribe siblings. "Don't just stand there," he shouted to the dumbstruck soldiers. "Get them!"

Have spent three weeks on a Prince's ship, sparred with said Prince, seen a bloody fight with pirates, and studied her treasured scroll, all increased Katara's confidence in herself and her fighting abilities. She and Sokka had heard Aang take off into the woods and they'd immediately taken off after him, relying on Appa's flying to help them keep up.

Now Katara stepped forward gracefully and pulled her element from her waterskin. She smiled a bit as she unleashed the water whip, a move she had just perfected recently, on the Fire Nation soldiers. She managed a few hits and was rewarded by their yelps of surprise and pain.

Beside her, Sokka drew his club in one hand and boomerang in the other. A sure throw knocked one soldier out.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Aang locked in a fight with Zhao. Aang was taunting the man and running about, dodging his fire blasts. Veins were appearing in Zhao's forehead now and he growled in frustration as the Avatar continuously dodged his attacks.

Katara took a deep breath and drew all of the water out of its container. Waving her arms with practiced grace, she gave a loud yell, catching the Admiral's attention, and sent all of her water at him in a wave, with as much force as she could put behind it.

Zhao gasped as the wave struck him in the chest and sent him sprawling several feet away. He got to his feet with an angry growl as smoke curled out of his nostrils. The Avatar and his friends had disappeared. Make no mistake; he silently thought to the Water Tribe girl, I'll get you for that.

0000000000000

"That was close!" Aang gasped. They were safely away from the cave now.

"I'll say!" said Sokka. "What was with you sneaking off like that?"

Aang hung his head. "I'm sorry, guys. I just wanted to see if there were any more airbenders."

Katara and Sokka shared a look. Aang looked and sounded exactly like a small, lost child right now. Sokka sighed and mentally cursed. That had been too close. But with the sad look Aang was giving him, he couldn't bring himself to yell at the boy.

"So what did Zhao mean about "your masked friend" and you being rescued?" he asked.

"Oh, er, well he meant…uh. When you guys got sick after the storm and I had to get you medicine, I accidently got captured by Zhao. I mean, he had these crazy archers who could shoot through ice and…"

"Wait, you mean that time we sucked on frozen frogs?" Sokka opened his mouth and pointed inside. "I have a wart on the back of my throat for that!"

Katara sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Sokka, there is nothing there."

Her brother started to argue, but Aang interrupted. "So, did you guys want to hear about the masked guy or not?"

They stopped in a small clearing and sat down. "Go ahead, Aang." Katara said.

"Well, this guy wearing a blue demon masked came in to the room where I was being held. And he cut me free. I mean, he had these two swords that could cut through metal. And he was wearing all black. It was kinda creepy."

"Anyway, we started sneaking out-and he never said a word that whole time, which was creepy too- and then alarms went off and we had to fight our way out. He-he forced Zhao to open the gates and we left the fortress. But then an arrow came and hit him in the shoulder. I gave us some cover and we ran into the woods. I didn't know what he was going to do with me, and I tried to tell him how you guys were sick and needed those frogs and he told me to go get them. I don't know what happened to him. I haven't seen him since. I didn't even get his name."

"You don't know what happened to him?" Sokka asked this.

Aang shook his head. "I wanted to get back to you guys."

"Aang that's great, but you're telling me some stranger freed you, was injured doing it, and then let you run off, but you didn't even think to ask him if he would be okay?"

"Well, yeah".

Sokka sighed. "I'm sorry, that just seems a little…ungrateful. I wish you could have at least gotten his name or something."

"Why?"

"Well, one, maybe we could find and thank him for saving you and two, if he can break you out of a highly secure fortress with just a couple of swords, he sounds like a handy person to have around."

"Maybe we'll run into him. I mean a guy in a blue mask. How many people could miss that?"

Katara spoke up. "So what did this mask look like exactly?"

While Aang went into a surprisingly descriptive detail of the mask, Katara felt shivers run up and down her spine. Zuko had worn a blue demon mask when he saved her. A man in all black clothing and a blue mask that carried two swords? What were the coincidences?

The following night, the three children sat around a campfire, listening to a villager tell stories about the airbenders. Katara was only listening with half an ear. Her mind kept wandering back to Zuko. He _saved_ Aang. He _saved_ her. But why? Maybe rescuing Aang had only been an attempt to capture him for himself, but what about her? Zuko had never given her an answer as to why he really saved her.

Her thoughts couldn't sort out any answers even as they traveled through the mountains to the Northern Air Temple the next morning. Aang was just as excited as he'd been when they'd visited the Southern Air Temple and Katara couldn't see why. Were they really going to go on the word of two random storytellers that Air Nomads still existed?

There was another thought that made her nervous. They'd seen the remains of Gyatso. What if there were more like that at the Northern-?

Katara stopped mid-thought. They saw Gyatso. But no one else. There had been no other remains anywhere on the Temple except for Gyatso's. So where were they? She tried to tell herself that after a hundred years, the bodies must had all disintegrated or, ugh, maybe they were eaten by wild animals.

But that didn't explain why Gyatso's remains happened to be the only ones left there. Something just wasn't adding up.

"So guys, I was thinking…" Aang started, interrupting Katara's thoughts.

"I think I'm going to take Zuko up on his offer. That encounter with Zhao was really close and I think maybe having some extra help would be a good idea."

Sokka propped himself up on one elbow. "I'm still not too sure I like the idea. But if you think its okay…well, I guess I'll go along. Katara, what do you think?"

Katara's heart had made a funny little leap when Aang said Zuko's name. There was a tremor going through her body, not unlike the one she felt when Zuko had given her reading lessons and their hands had briefly touched.

She managed to keep her voice steady. "I think it's a good idea."

**A/N: The idea about Aang being lured into a cave by Air Nomad artifacts came from the Avatar Comics. **

**So what do **_**you**_** think might have happened to the Air Nomads? I wondered why Gyatso's remains are the only ones we see. And I know it's a children's show, but still if they showed one, why not more? I understand there wouldn't really be any at the Northern Air Temple with people living there and its possible Guru Pathik took care of the ones at the Eastern. But it's obviously colder up at the temples with them being set in the mountains, I'd think, and wouldn't the cold be more likely to preserve bodies rather than make them decompose faster? I'm not an expert so I don't really know. That's why I'm asking you guys for your ideas. **

**See that blue button down there? Please press it. Reviews encourage me to write more. C'mon, you know you want to! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks to all of you who are still around reading and reviewing. I appreciate it. **

**This may already be old news for some of you, but I just found out "The Legend of Korra" is airing on April 14****th****! It looks like an exciting sequel and I'm going to give it a chance. How about you? **

**Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA. **

The Northern Air Temple had been…strange. And its inhabitants even stranger. Sokka had been absolutely fascinated with the Mechanist's inventions. Aang had been shocked about the changes, then angry, but after the Fire Nation had been taken care of, he decided it would be alright for the Earth Kingdom refugees to continue living there.

Katara was glad they were safe, but the battle with the Fire Nation had left her stomach in knots. She'd watched in horror as Aang had used airbending to blast tanks down the mountain. Aang had taken pride in his Air Nomad beliefs, stating how killing was wrong and shouldn't be done. Did he realize there were people inside those tanks, and that they probably all died in that fall? And the explosion Sokka had created with the war balloon furnace had been impressive, sure; but it likely killed many more Fire Nation soldiers.

Katara knew the Fire Nation was the enemy and that it was wrong for them to attack. But after her three weeks on Zuko's ship, she had to admit they were human. She still wanted to think they were monsters, but _human_ monsters.

Katara shook her head. The thoughts in it made no sense anymore. Maybe it was from being in the high mountain altitude.

"I don't mean to complain" Sokka said, in a whining voice, "but are we there yet? I mean can't Appa fly faster?"

"Hey" Aang snapped. "Appa's flying as best he can. How 'bout we climb on your back and _you_ fly us to the North Pole?"

While Sokka responded with a sarcastic comment, Katara looked out over the continuous ocean they were flying over. It made her homesick-infinite amounts of blue water and sky, occasionally broken by huge chunks of ice. She had a sudden longing for bowls of stewed sea prunes and roasted arctic hen, sitting around a campfire while Gran-Gran told stories, or even sitting on her father's lap as a child while he carved jewelry out of whale bone for-. No, stop she told herself. She wasn't at home, she was on the other side of the world, and there was a war, and they hadn't seen their father in years…

Katara swallowed and fought back tears. She knew it was pointless to sit and cry over a lost childhood. They had more important things to worry about.

For a moment, her mind flashed back to the night on Zuko's ship. _Do you pray?_ he had asked her. She hadn't as much as she should have. If the spirits were really there and listening, why was there still so much suffering in the world? Why was there an endless war dragging on and on?

Without thinking, she looked down and started to pray.

_Um, Tui, La, are you there? It's Katara. Please, _please_ help us. Give me the strength to be able to master waterbending. Help Sokka become a better warrior. Give Aang the ability to fulfill his destiny. Look out for all the people suffering in this world. Keep us all safe. And please watch over Gran-Gran and the rest of the tribe back home, and my father and the other men. And…watch over the Fire Prince, Zuko, and his uncle and crew. I think Zuko might be lost and hurting and I think he needs guidance. I don't know if you'd help firebenders, but…please. I think there's good in him. Thanks. _

She opened her eyes and realized Aang and Sokka were still arguing and stepped in. "Look guys, we've been flying for the past three days and nights and haven't gotten a lot of rest. I know we're all tired and cranky, but we can't be arguing. We have to focus on finding the Northern Water Tribe."

Sokka opened his arms wide and gestured around him. "There's nothing out here! We could fly around in circles for months and never find them!"

The words were barely out of his mouth when a huge block of ice shot up from the water. Aang flicked the reins, encouraging Appa to swerve and fly faster as more pieces of ice erupted from the water. They hadn't gone very far before Appa was left stuck in the ice, roaring in frustration.

Dozens of elegantly carved boats appeared from behind the ice, each filled with half a dozen or so men, making Katara tense in case there was a fight.

After a brief interrogation and some nervous introductions, the Water Tribe warriors were satisfied enough to belief Aang was the Avatar and escorted them to the Northern Water Tribe fortress.

Katara's mouth fell open in awe at the sheer size and beauty of the ice city. Dozens, no hundreds, of canals and walls formed an intricate maze. Fantastically decorated buildings lined the canals and curved bridges stretched over them. Water poured out of walls to collect in pools and lantern's light reflected in the water. An entire city at the North Pole, jutting out of an icy cliff, made completely of snow, ice, and water. It was an unimaginable, ingenious feat of architecture.

Nearly as amazing was the amount of waterbenders here. She and Aang marveled at the amount of them. Surely there would be at least one able and willing to teach them!

Appa swam along through the canals, following a boat with the captain of the men who'd found them in it. As they moved along, dozens of people, men and women, young and old, looked out of windows and stopped along walkways to see them. Some of them waved and Aang and Katara waved back. Katara noticed Sokka was at the back of Appa's saddle, staring out at a boat they'd just past. She looked to see who was in the boat, but only got to glimpse the back of someone with long, white hair.

Katara lost track of the turns they made as they went deeper into the ice city. Finally, they stopped and were ushered onto a massive square courtyard, made of a sheet of ice of course, then up a long, wide staircase and into one of the largest buildings.

The building was so large Katara was sure the entire village back home could have fit in it. Columns, carved with faces of animals and spirits, supported the arched ceiling. She wondered how masterful a waterbender one had to be to build something like this. Perhaps when the war was over, she would have learned enough waterbending that she could make actual buildings at the South Pole!

They stopped in front of a tall dais where three people, two older men and a young woman, sat. The young woman had white hair. Was this the same person Sokka had been gawking at earlier? She stole a glance at her brother, and sure enough, he was staring again now.

The man in the center looked to be a little older than their father and had a stern face, as if he had seen far more than he wanted to in his life. His clothes were a deep blue and he wore an intricate necklace made of whale bone.

His voice was deep and sounded as if it belonged to an older man. "So, you are the Avatar we've waited so long for?" he said, looking directly at Aang.

The boy grinned. "That's right. I'm Aang." He gave a quick, respectful bow. "And these are my friends Katara and Sokka from the Southern Water Tribe."

"I am Chief Arnook." He gestured to the woman. "My daughter, Princess Yue," he then gestured to the older man on his other side, "and this is Master Pakku. He is the greatest waterbender in the North Pole."

The man gave them a firm nod of greeting, but didn't smile or say anything. He may be the best waterbender in the world, but he seems awfully grouchy, Katara thought.

Arnook was speaking again. "We welcome are cousins from the South and the Avatar. We will let you rest from your long journey and tonight we will hold a feast in your honor.

Sokka was very happy about that.

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Zuko sat down on his bed and leaned his back against the wall. He'd been feeling irritable lately and music night certainly wasn't going to help. He absolutely wasn't going to admit that a teeny, tiny, insignificant, almost unnoticeable reason for his irritancy was that Katara was gone.

No, damn it, he did NOT miss her! It was ridiculous to think that he'd appreciated and enjoyed her company and wanted her back.

Hyo, who was lying next to him, placed his head on Zuko's leg and thumped his tail. He could sense his master's discomfort and didn't like it.

Zuko heard his uncle's familiar footsteps in the hall on the other side of the wall. The bedroom door swung open. Zuko sighed. He'd already told his uncle three times he didn't want to participate in music night.

"Prince Zuko, it seems there will be a change in our plans."

They'd been heading north, following the Avatar's trail, but had been forced to stop at the northernmost port of the Earth Kingdom, where unfortunately most of the Northern Fleet was docked, to restock on some supplies. Even more unfortunate was that Zhao had, when he was made Admiral, been placed in command of the Northern Fleet.

Zuko's personal thorn in the side entered the room. "I'm taking you crew." Zhao announced smugly.

"_WHAT!_" Zuko yelled. He was seething as Zhao haughtily explained how he'd been given a mission of upmost importance at the North Pole, blah blah, he was going to be a great conqueror and annihilate the Northern Water Tribe-wait, what?

The Avatar was at the Northern Water Tribe. And so was Katara. If Zhao got there first, he could possibly capture Aang. That couldn't happen.

Zhao had finally stopped talking and was staring intently at the wall…where Zuko's broadswords were hanging.

_Shit! Spirits, please don't tell me he's smart enough to figure it out!_

Zhao took down one of the swords and swung it around experimentally. It was obvious he wasn't used to using metal weapons and Zuko secretly hoped he'd poke one of his eyes out.

"Are you familiar with the Blue Spirit, General Iroh?"

"I've heard the old stories about-"

"No! There are rumors going around the countryside about vicious spirits attacking Fire Nation soldiers and raiding their storehouses. The Blue Spirit along the west coast and the Red Spirit moving towards the eastern colonies."

"Oh that," Iroh said. "I only heard the rumors. I don't think it's real."

"It's real General, believe me. But they're not spirits, I'm sure, just a couple of low life criminals." He handed the sword to Iroh and glanced at Zuko. "I'm sure justice will catch up with them and give them what they deserve."

Zhao moved to the door. "Remember, my offer still stands, should you change your mind." Then he left.

Zuko sighed. "Uncle, I'd like to be alone for a bit."

With his Uncle gone, Zuko sat down on the bed and pulled out a writing desk. He dipped the brush in the ink and scribbled a quick note.

_RS, _

_Someone highly-ranked knows our secret. I may need your help. Meet me in the cellar when the second half moon is over the full moon. Until then, watch your back. _

_BS _

The Red Spirit would know what it meant. Zuko blew on the ink to dry it, rolled up and sealed the note, and got their messenger hawk. Once the letter had been sent, he returned to his room. There was a bad feeling in his gut that this night was only going to get worse.

A few hours later, the crew left for their new assignment. Zuko knew they didn't have a choice; if they'd refused they'd have likely been in trouble for refusing to obey the orders of a commanding officer. Still, he couldn't help but feel betrayed.

Uncle came back to his room after the crew had left, suggesting a walk might help clear his head. Zuko refused, but Hyo seemed to think a walk was a wonderful idea and followed Uncle out, leaving Zuko alone.

For a little while he lay in his dark, quiet bedroom. He realized he'd never been completely alone on the ship before and it was a strange feeling. It was too quiet; you could hear every little sound in the ship, like the hull door opening-.

The door opening when no one else is on the ship?

It's probably just Uncle, Zuko told himself. But instinct, coupled with a slight paranoia, insisted it wasn't, so he got up to investigate.

He moved silently through the hallways, hands up, in case he actually ran into someone looking for a fight. What if Zhao had sent someone to spy on him? It wouldn't be surprising.

He headed upstairs into the main room of the tower. The windows held the view of a dark, almost eerily silent harbor. Zuko frowned and rubbed the back up his neck, wondering if he was just being paranoid.

Suddenly, a shudder went through the entire ship. Zuko felt what caused it long before he saw it. Fire. Lots of fire. A massive inferno shot up into the tower as the ship exploded.

Zuko yelled in surprise and instinctively threw his hands up and bent the flames. The Shield of Fire. It was an advanced move that Uncle had taught him several years ago, but Zuko had actually learned it surprisingly quickly. Now he was grateful for it as he bent the fire around. But while the shield might have prevented some of the fire from burning him and from being hit by pieces of debris, it couldn't withstand the force of energy from the explosion.

Zuko felt himself being lifted up and sent through the air, not unlike when the Avatar had blasted him away when Katara was taken. He flew backwards and struck the glass window, feeling it shatter behind him as bits of the glass dug into his skin. The blast forced him out the window and down, down, slamming his side into the edge of the ship before falling limply into the cold water below.

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As the sun rose over the Northern Water Tribe, Katara and Aang eagerly made their way into the courtyard where they'd receive their waterbending training.

Katara's heart pounded in her chest. She was so excited; the only reasons she'd been able to sleep at all last night was that she'd been tired from the long trip and full from the amazing feast Chief Arnook had thrown them last night.

"Good morning, Master Pakku!" Aang shouted, interrupting the man's practice.

Aang introduced Katara, having told Pakku about a friend that wanted to learn waterbending.

Pakku raised an eyebrow and said gruffly, "You didn't tell me your friend was the girl. Women do not fight in our tribe."

_What?_

"Well, technically, she's not from your tribe. She's from the South." Aang tried to point out.

Pakku looked at both of them sternly. "Women do not fight here, nor are they taught any sort of combat. They are forbidden. It is our custom. If she wants to study waterbending, there are healers who I am sure would be willing to teach her. But if you cannot respect our customs, then I will not be willing to teach you."

"But…"

Katara pulled Aang aside. "It's okay, Aang" she said, feeling both defeated and angry. "You have to learn waterbending, even if Pakku is a big jerk." She paused then said reluctantly, "I'll go practice with the healers. It might be useful for one of us to be able to heal."

This was what she told herself as she went to the healer's lodge Pakku had directed her to. He told her a woman named Yugoda, one of the best healers in their tribe, was taking new pupils.

Katara thought back to when she'd unwittingly healed Zuko on his ship. It was definitely a useful ability to have. She hadn't used it since and had been so overwhelmed with everything else going on she'd forgotten to even mention it to Sokka and Aang.

They had all come here to learn and improve. Aang had to learn waterbending, Sokka was training with the other non-bending warriors, and well, if she couldn't learn to fight with waterbending, healing had to be the next best thing. Maybe she could take what she learned there and somehow apply it to fighting.

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Zuko bit back a groan and he clawed his way onto the rocky shore. The force of the explosion and the impact on the water had nearly knocked him out. He'd gone underwater for a moment, forcing himself to swim far enough away from the ship where he wouldn't be hit with debris. It had taken a lot of energy out of him just to swim a few dozen feet and he'd reluctantly turned over and floated on his back when he didn't have any more energy left. He didn't really remember the rest of getting to shore, only that it seemed to take forever. He might have blacked out a time or two while floating in the water and he was certain he had other injuries.

Zuko crawled a few more feet inland before collapsing down on the cold ground. He was freezing and hurt everywhere. Forcibly, he raised his head a bit and breathed, letting out a small bit a fire. Warmth comfortingly spread through his body.

"Zuko?" a voice called hoarsely over the wind.

Zuko tried to make himself sit up, but couldn't quite do it. "Uncle! I'm over here!"

"Zuko!" Iroh appeared around a corner on the shore, Hyo at his heels. The older man rushed over and threw himself at his nephew's side.

"Ow." Zuko protested weakly as Iroh sat him up and wrapped him in a hug.

"Thank Agni you're alive! I thought I had lost you." He pulled away to look at Zuko's face and Zuko saw tears of relief brimming in his eyes.

His heart suddenly ached more than any other part of his body. Iroh had often said how Zuko was like a son to him and how he couldn't bear the thought of losing another.

Tears started to form in his own eyes and he hastily wiped them away. "I'm okay." He smiled halfheartedly as Hyo licked at his cheek. He wrapped his arms around the dog and buried his face in the fur, so Uncle wouldn't see anymore tears.

"I saw the ship explode. Zhao was behind it." Iroh said angrily.

"You think?" It was a redundant question.

"He'll think you're dead. Most people wouldn't have survived an explosion like that."

Zuko sat up a little straighter and looked his uncle in the eyes. "Well, we'll just let him believe that."

**If you're wondering who The Red Spirit is, they will show up in a few chapters. If you want to guess and can't wait until that chapter to find out, send me a PM and I'll let you know if you're right or not. (Hint: They're not shown in the cartoon, but they're not a complete OC either.) **

**Someone sent me a review for last chapter that I couldn't respond to because it wasn't signed, but they suggested that perhaps the Fire Nation burned up all the Air Nomad bodies at the Air Temples and simply forgot about Gyatso. I hadn't thought of that, and it's a good idea, but what about the Fire Nation bodies we see lying around Gyatso? It makes sense that the Fire Nation would cremate their dead (as we see in "Zuko Alone") so why would their own soldiers be left lying there? Why spend time getting rid of your enemies' remains and forget about your own dead? Honor and respect is obviously supposed to be a big deal in the Fire Nation, so I can't imagine they would simply leave their fallen comrades to rot instead of giving them decent funerals and focus on getting rid of the Air Nomads. There are so many plot holes left in ATLA! I hope to try and fill in some of them with this story. We'll see. **


	12. Chapter 12

Katara settled herself onto the fur bed of the guest room they'd been given to stay in.

"How's warrior training going?" she asked Sokka.

Her brother groaned and kicked at his bags, before throwing himself on his bed. "Princess Yue is acting weird. One minute she acts like she likes me, then she acts like she never wants to see me. Girls are weird. So how's the waterbending?"

Katara shrugged.

Aang looked up and said how Pakku-who he called Master Poophead- wouldn't teach her for being a girl.

It was Sokka's turn to shrug as he settled himself into a more comfortable position. "So find someone else. We saw on the very first day, there are hundreds of waterbenders here. I'm sure you can find at least one who'd be willing to bend the rules. Or have Aang show you what he's learning. Then you can both practice."

Katara gasped and sat up. "Sokka, you're a genius!"

Her brother grinned. "Yeah, I know."

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In Zhao's private 'office', a large tent outside the Northern Fleet's post, Iroh sat and sipped the green tea offered.

"I'm so sorry to hear about Prince Zuko's death" Zhao said. "It's so tragic to have lost someone so young. Do you have any idea who's…behind the attack?"

Iroh slammed his fist down on the table. "No" he lied. "But I do know that when I find out, they will pay dearly."

Zhao smirked. "So have you reconsidered my offer, General?"

"Yes and I would be honored to accept."

After the tea with Zhao was over, Iroh boarded the main ship and slipped away to the boiler rooms. He stood in the corner next to a young soldier.

"Our plan is going perfectly. Zhao doesn't suspect a thing."

"Did you expect him to?" the soldier asked. He removed his mask, to reveal Zuko's bruised face.

"No. But be careful anyways. Stay hidden until we reach the North Pole. Then you can carry on with your plan. You do have a plan don't you?"

"I'm working on it, Uncle."

Iroh nodded and started to walk away.

"Uncle!"

Iroh stopped and turned around.

"Thank you."

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"I'll be waiting outside if you're man enough to fight me!"

The hall filled with gasps as Katara stormed out. She was furious. How dare they refuse to teach her because she was a girl? And now Pakku wouldn't teach Aang? They'd just been practicing together for spirit's sake!

"Katara are you insane?" Sokka asked, catching up with her. "There's no way you can win a fight against Pakku. A few months ago, you could barely_ lift_ water."

Katara yanked off her parka. She knew she didn't stand a chance. "I don't care! No one's ever going to stand up to that jerk so I'm going to."

The three weeks sent on Zuko's ship had given her confidence. She knew her waterbending skills were a little above rudimentary, but she'd still come a long way then when she'd been trying to teach herself in the South Pole.

Pakku walked past her, telling her to go back to the healing huts.

Angrier than ever, Katara did the water-whip, slapping Pakku on the shoulder. The old man turned around and got into a fighting stance.

"You want to learn how to fight, little girl? Watch and learn!"

Katara ran at him, but with a single sweep of his arm, Pakku knocked her off her feet into the fountain. Icy water drenched her and swept into her nose and mouth. She stood up in the fountain, gasping and shaking. Pulling at the water, she froze a small pillar in front of her and stared shooting ice disks at Pakku. He dodged them all, though one came particularly close to his head.

Katara leapt out of the fountain and ran at Pakku, throwing as much water as she could at him. He froze it and slid out of her reach. With another wave of water, he knocked her towards the stairs. Katara leapt on the end of the banister and twisted ice around her ankles to keep her in place.

"Try and knock me down again!" she snarled.

Katara attacked Pakku again and the others-Aang, Sokka, Yue, as well as some of Pakku's other students- cheered her on.

Katara made another attack, but Pakku easily knocked her down. Furious, she scrambled to her feet to attack again.

But Pakku was ready. With an impressive wave of water, he threw it over Katara's head, turning it into frozen spears at the last moment, pinning her in place.

Katara struggled against her bindings. "Let me go! I'm not finished with you!"

"Yes, you are" sighed the old man. He started to walk away then stopped, and picked something up off the ground.

Her necklace! She hadn't even noticed it had come off. Katara made a mental note to be more careful with it. That was the second time in several weeks it had been lost.

"My necklace" she heard Pakku murmur.

Katara struggled against the spears again and this time freed herself. "No! That's my necklace!"

Pakku turned to her. "I made this years ago for the love of my life, for Kanna" he said, sounding genuinely sad. "But she disappeared before the wedding. I never saw her again."

Katara and Sokka's jaws dropped. "My gran-gran was supposed to marry _you?_" She'd only recently learned from Healer Yugoda that Kanna was really from the Northern Water Tribe and that the necklace was actually a betrothal necklace. Yugoda had told her it was customary for a man to give the woman he wanted to marry a necklace and if she accepted it, they were engaged.

A horrifying thought struck her. Zuko had given the necklace back to her-but that doesn't mean anything, she quickly told herself. He was just trying to be nice and had no idea what the necklace meant and neither did she at the time.

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A few weeks later, Katara was confidently fighting against boys older than her-and winning. Pakku had decided to take her on as a student after all, making her the first female-aside from Avatars- to learn combat waterbending at the North Pole.

"Almost a master-but not quite" Pakku would say to her. He gave her rare compliments on how eager she was, how quickly she was learning now that she had a master to study under, how she learned faster than any student he'd ever trained. It was hard for Katara to not feel proud of herself.

She quickly mastered the basics within those weeks, and had a couple of advanced moves down. It would be a couple of years before she reached master level, Pakku told her, not wanting her ego to get to inflated. But she had talent and was hard-working and he was sure if she continued studying she'd reach mastery eventually.

Aang was another story. He was talented too, but wasn't as diligent about training as Katara was. He'd learned his basics, but whether he'd mastered them or not was hard to say. Aang mostly wanted to play, and after getting up before sunrise and practicing all day, he would complain how he was too tired to practice in the evening when Katara wanted to. She tried to explain to him that in made sense to practice at night, since Pakku had told her waterbending was stronger then, but Aang didn't listen.

Sokka was honing his warrior skills, which he proudly boasted to anyone who would listen, mostly Princess Yue. The two had become surprisingly close, Katara had noticed, but she didn't question it. She liked Yue, and was glad to see Sokka so happy.

Coming to the North Pole had been good for all of them, it seemed.

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In the open seas of the North Mo Ce Sea, Zhao and Iroh overlooked the endless water.

"In a few days, we'll reach the Northern Water Tribe, General." Zhao said smugly. "Then, history will be made."

**I'm sorry this is short and took me so long. I've been distracted by other projects. I will try to upload more. **


	13. Chapter 13

"The Fire Nation's coming!"

The cry startled the easy-going atmosphere of the afternoon. Sokka and Yue came running up the steps of the main hall.

"The Fire Nation's coming!" Sokka shouted again. He stopped, panting in front of Chief Arnook. "Me...and Yue, we were riding Appa…and we saw the black snow."

Murmurs and cries of fear interrupted from the crowd that had gathered around. Arnook held up a hand for silence.

"We were already aware of the Fire Nation's plans from what you had told us" he said, speaking directly to Sokka. "But it seems the Fire Nation is attacking even sooner than we planned."

Arnook turned to the crowd. "My people! The hour we have dreaded for so long has come! The Fire Nation is on their way! We will stand and fight against these invaders! They are surrounded by our element. We will drive them out and defend our homes, by whatever means necessary!"

The people cheered in response to their leader's supportive speech, but Katara, who was standing in the crowd next to Aang, only felt chills run down her spine. She saw what happened at the Northern Air Temple and the defenders hadn't even been trained warriors. She didn't want that happening on a larger scale!

Sokka was speaking to Arnook again. "…They weren't close enough that we could see them on the horizon, so they're probably a ways away. But judging by how dark the sky was turning, I'd say there's a lot."

Katara tuned out Arnook's voice as he began making battle plans. She simply felt sick. This couldn't be happening! Everything was messed up!

"Katara, are you okay?" asked Aang, frowning. His usual playfulness was gone; he knew this was serious.

Katara nodded wordlessly. She wasn't sure she could speak. The gut-wrenching feeling twisted around inside and made her feel cold.

Inside the main hall, the chief, Pakku and the other important waterbenders, and Aang, being the Avatar, met to discuss battle strategies. Sokka and Katara were there as well, waiting off to the side. Katara could hear Yue arguing with her father. She was protesting being told to leave the city.

"You will go with the others and lead your people to safety! That is an order!" Arnook was saying.

Accessed by waterbending, were ice tunnels that led to a secret fortress used as a sanctuary for those who could not fight in times of attack. Women who were not healers, elderly who were too old or ill to fight, and children who were too young were all exciting the city for this fortress. Some of the teenage waterbenders-boys Katara had spared against- were accompanying them. They knew enough bending to access and secure the tunnels and provide defense if necessary, but weren't skilled enough to stand a real siege.

Those staying included all of the other waterbenders-both men to fight and female healers who would wait further into the city, where they could heal the wounded. Chief Arnook and Pakku would be leading the warriors and as the Avatar, Aang had promised to stay and fight with them. Katara wasn't going to point anything out about Aang agreeing to fight when he claimed he was a pacifist. She and Sokka were, of course, going to help their sister tribe, though Katara suspected they had different reasons.

Katara felt it was the right thing to do, plus Aang would need help. Sokka probably felt the same way, but Katara suspected Princess Yue had something to do with his decision as well.

Katara turned back to Yue and Arnook. Somehow, it seemed, Yue had convinced her father to allow her to stay, but on one condition-she had to stay with Sokka, where he would act as her bodyguard.

Sokka seemed a little shocked as he was told of his assignment, and squeaked out an "um, ok".

Katara noticed Aang had gone outside and was sitting on the steps. She went and sat next to him. "Are you okay?"

The monk shook his head. "No. I wasn't there when the Fire Nation attacked my people. I want to make a difference here…but what if I can't?"

Katara placed a hand on his slender shoulder. "I'm sure you will. In fact, you already are. You're the Avatar. Everywhere we go, you give people hope."

Aang smiled. "Thanks, Katara."

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It was later the next afternoon, when the sun was at its highest point in the sky that the armada appeared on the horizon. Katara waited on the ramparts, with Aang and Appa on one side of her. Warriors, benders and non-benders, the later armed with spears and knives, lined the top of the walls.

Then, a light glinted in the sky. Katara squinted, trying to tell what it was, just as the others around her did. Her eyes widened as she realized what it was, but it was too late. A massive fireball slammed into the wall, shattering the ice. Dozens of people went down screaming. Some were burning; some fell into the icy water.

Katara watched in horror. The fireball had not been close enough to damage where they were standing, but it was close enough.

More fireballs filled the air and the waterbenders created huge shields of ice to block them.

Several of the ships moved forward, barging through the ice and breaking the walls. Their gangplanks went down and hundreds of Fire Nation soldiers, nearly all of them firebenders, leapt out. Some of the soldiers were mounted on frightening beasts, Komodo Rhinos, Katara recognized. Zuko had kept a few on his ship.

Aang had flown ahead on Appa, trying to take out as many ships as he was able before their soldiers could reach the city.

Katara used as much of her new waterbending as possible. She tried to put on a brave face and appear strong and tough, but inside she was terrified. Battle was so…bloody, so horrible, so disgusting.

She'd never actually participated in a real battle before, unless you counted the Northern Air Temple. But all she'd done was drop homemade bombs on the advancing soldiers from atop Appa. And the fight on Zuko's ship wasn't really a battle to her; she'd frozen one pirate and fainted in the heat of it all. Real smooth Katara. That wouldn't happen now.

But they hadn't felt like real battles. Here she was in the midst of it; there was fighting on all sides of her.

By sundown, Aang and Appa returned, both exhausted. Aang had managed to stop at least a dozen ships, but there were so many…

The Fire Nation stopped attacking after sundown. Katara wondered why they didn't form a sneak attack when their enemy was at their weakest. She tried to point this out to Pakku, but he shook his head, saying their losses were already devastating. Most men were with the healers or trying to gain some rest where they could. It would be impossible, he said, to mount and launch a sneak attack so suddenly.

Yue, Katara, and Aang stood on a balcony, feeling helpless. They could see the full moon shining and the battleships in the water, taunting them.

Yue commented on how waterbenders had learned from the moon herself. Aang gasped and leapt to his feet with a gust of air. "The Spirits!" he shouted.

Katara and Yue stared at him. "Maybe we can ask the spirits for help," Aang explained. "If I can get into the spirit world…"

"…then maybe they can give you the wisdom needed to win the battle!" Yue said hopefully.

Aang scratched his head. "I was thinking unleashing a crazy attack on the Fire Nation. But wisdom works too."

"Come with me" Yue said. "I know where you can get to the Spirit World."

Yue lead them through the streets, which were eerily quiet. She stopped at a small round door and pulled it open, gesturing for them to go inside.

Aang and Katara gasped in awe. They were in a beautiful oasis. It was a massive oval shape, with walls made of ice, yet it was so warm and comfortable. At the far end, a waterfall fell down into an intricate pool, which flowed into neat streams covered by wooden bridges. Moonlight shone down, illuminating the oasis. Amazingly, there was soft grass, blossoming trees, and flowers.

Katara was dumbstruck. "How is this possible?"

"This is the center of spiritual energy in our land. Our city was built around this site" Yue explained.

They examined the oasis and saw two Koi, one black with white markings, the other white with black markings, swimming in a circle in the pool.

Aang sat down in front of the pool and tried to meditate. After a while, his tattoos began to glow.

"What's happening?" a panicked Yue asked.

"It's okay" Katara assured her. "He's crossing into the Spirit World."

"How convientent the Avatar puts himself out of the way for us."

Katara felt chills run down her spine. "No." she whispered.

Zhao stood at the entrance of the oasis, with six soldiers behind him, all wearing the skull-masked uniform.

Katara stepped in between them and Aang while Yue ran out another exit Katara hadn't noticed to get Sokka. "You can't take Aang!" Katara shouted, trying to sound brave.

Zhao laughed. "I'm not interested in the Avatar. At least, not at the moment. I'll get to him later. But first, I need you out of my way."

With a growl, Zhao launched a fireball at her. Katara managed to put it out easily, thanking the moon for being full tonight.

Zhao attacked more aggressively and Katara was forced to use more advanced moves to defend herself. She realized the others hadn't attacked, thankfully. She'd gotten a lot stronger, but wasn't sure she'd be able to take on seven highly trained soldiers on her own.

Just when Katara was starting to fear she didn't have a chance at defeating Zhao, a fireball came out of nowhere and knocked him to the side. Both Katara and Zhao were shocked. Katara looked over at the soldiers. One of them had removed his helmet and was in a fighting stance.

It was Zuko.

Katara noticed his face was bruised. There was a bruise underneath his right eye and one on his left jawbone. There were half-healed cuts across his nose and on his forehead and a slight burn on his right cheek. What had happened to him?

"Prince Zuko" Zhao sneered. "I'm amazed to see you're still alive."

"You mean after you tried to have me killed?" Zuko snarled.

Zhao smiled smugly. "Yes. But I'm not surprised to discover you're a traitor."

Zuko growled and swung a flaming fist at Zhao. The other soldiers, Katara noticed, didn't try to stop Zuko, probably because they were still in shock.

Zuko and Zhao were now fighting each other, as well as Zhao trying to attack Katara. She couldn't believe she was actually fighting alongside Zuko.

Zhao glared at them both. For a moment, he looked as if he was going to send an attack towards Zuko. But at the last second, he swung his fist the other way, catching Katara under her jaw and sending her flying back against one of the trees.

Katara felt the pain in her head as she staggered back from the blow. Her body slammed painfully into the tree. Bright flashes of light burst in front of her eyes, not unlike when she was attacked by soldiers before winding up on Zuko's ship. For a moment, everything was clear and she hear Zhao sneer, "How pathetic. Falling in love with a Water Tribe peasant. That would be so typical of you". But then everything became fuzzy, her eyes rolled back in her head, and she pitched forward onto the ground while everything around her went black.

Zuko ignored Zhao's taunt. He slowly moved back closer to the Avatar and Katara. Then he threw down his fist, causing a massive flame to erupt in front of him.

Zhao and his soldiers lifted their arms as the flash of fire momentarily blinded them. When their eyes cleared, the prince, the Water Tribe girl, and the Avatar were all gone.

Zhao growled for a moment, then grinned. At least now there was no one here to interrupt his plan…

000000000000

Sokka and Yue were flying over Appa. They were about to head down into the oasis when Sokka pulled the bison up.

"What is it?" Yue asked.

"I don't see Aang or Katara in there" said Sokka.

Yue looked and saw he was right. There were six Fire Nation soldiers gathered around the pond, but no Katara and no Aang.

"Maybe they managed to escape. We need to find them."

"Right. ."

00000000

Zuko trudged through the snow. He'd used the trick to distract them long enough to grab Katara and the Avatar-Aang- and get them away. Then he'd stripped off all of the Fire Nation, pulled the monk over his shoulders, half-carrying, half-dragging him, and Katara in his arms. It was a bit of weight, especially though this snow and he knew they couldn't go far. But at least they were away from Zhao. There was no way he was taking the Avatar from him…or Katara. Zuko shuddered to think what that bastard might do if he got his hands on her.

A moan startled him out of his thoughts. Katara was coming around. He carefully laid both monk and girl down in the snow. Katara moaned again and slowly opened her eyes, blinking away bits of snow that stuck to her eyelashes.

"Zuko?" she murmured.

"Are you alright?" Zuko asked.

"I think so. I'll be okay" she said, trying to get up. She looked around and registered where they were.

"What are you doing?" she shouted, suddenly angry. "Do you just bring us out here to freeze to death?"

"Excuse me, but I just got you both away from Zhao. I could have left you lying there. I think I deserve a 'thank you' at least. It wasn't easy carrying both of you."

Another moan interrupted them. There was a flash of light, then Aang's tattoos stopped glowing and he opened his eyes. "Katara, the moon is- ah!" Aang yelped when he saw Zuko. He looked around frantically. "What's going on? I thought we were in the Spirit Oasis."

"We were" Katara told him. "Bit Zhao attacked us. Zuko…he got us away from Zhao."

"But we need to go back! The moon and ocean are in trouble!"

"What?"

"The moon's going to be destroyed!"

_We're going fishing._ "Oh, spirits" Zuko hissed. Now it made sense.

"Zhao's going to kill the moon spirit's mortal form so he can overpower and destroy the Water Tribe."

"Katara! Aang!"

They looked up and saw Sokka and Yue approaching on Appa.

"Thank goodness we found you guys. We were looking everywh-what is he doing here?" Sokka shouted pointing at Zuko.

Katara sighed. "I _think _he's helping us."

Zuko opened his mouth to speak. "I am…"

Sokka cut him off. "No way. I still don't believe he's on our side. I bet this was all part of his plan. He's just looking for ways to capture Aang. And if he happens to get you too Katara, well, then you're just a bonus prize!"

"Sokka!"

Katara felt conflicted. Hadn't Zuko said he would help them against Zhao? Isn't that what he promised in the letter? And he had gotten them away from Zhao so they couldn't be captured.

"Guys…the moon spirit." Aang said urgently.

"We don't have time to argue. We need to get back." Katara said quickly.

"What about jerkbender?" asked Sokka.

Zuko growled and started towards him, but Aang held up his hands in a peaceful gesture. "We can't leave him here, Sokka, not after he got us away. Plus, I don't think he can do too much if he did attack. It'd be the three of us against one."

"Fine" Sokka growled.

On the way back to the oasis, Sokka and Zuko glared daggers at one another. The ride was tense, interrupted as the moon turned a horrifying shade of blood red. Katara felt dizzy and Yue and Aang complained of feeling faint.

"Are you alright?" Zuko asked Katara. Sokka looked up from where he was comforting Yue.

"Don't talk to her!" he snarled.

They reached the oasis just in time, it seemed. Zhao was standing on the other side of the pool holding a squirming bad in front of him.

"Zhao, don't!" Aang cried, holding up his hands. "You can't destroy the moon. It'll throw the whole world out of balance."

"The Avatar is right, Zhao. You would do well to listen to him", came a voice from one of the bridges.

Everyone turned to see Uncle Iroh standing there.

"General Iroh," Zhao sighed. "Why am I not surprised to see you a traitor, along with your failure of a nephew?"

"He is no failure and I am no traitor. But if you do harm the moon spirit, I will unleash the pain you do to it on to you tenfold!" When Zhao made no move, Iroh shouted, eyes blazing "LET IT GO NOW!"

Zhao stepped back, startled by the General's blaze of temper. He wasn't the only one. The other soldiers stepped away, and out of the corner of her eye, Katara saw Zuko smirk.

Zhao released the white fish back into the pond and the moon resumed its normal appearance. But then, a twisted look of rage and madness formed on Zhao's face, and he flung a fireball into the pond, burning and killing the poor fish.

"No!" Iroh shouted.

The moon disappeared entirely and everything went gray. Katara felt weak. The moon was _gone_.

In a fury, Iroh leapt forward and took down the soldiers with more speed and agility then Katara assumed a man of his age and size would have. Within moments, all of the soldiers were lying on the ground, unconscious.

Then Katara noticed something. Zhao was gone. And so was Zuko. He probably went after him, she told herself.

Iroh mournfully pulled the lifeless fish out of the water. Its mate swam around frantically, seemingly lost in the pool.

Tears welled up in Princess Yue's eyes. "It's over" she whispered.

Aang's tattoos began to glow. "No," he said in a thousand past voices. "It's not over."

Katara watched as Aang stepped forward into the pool. The black fish's eyes and markings glowed to match Aang, and for a moment they both disappeared into the water. Then, a blue glow settled over the oasis as the gleaming water flowed outward.

Katara stared in both awe and horror and the glowing water morphed into the shape of an enormous fish. It the center, where it's 'heart' should have been, was Aang. The creature moved forward, wiping out Fire Nation soldiers, destroying their weapons, and drowning their ships.

That settled the problem of the Fire Nation armada. But what about the moon?

Iroh looked startled when he saw Yue, as if he had just noticed her for the first time. "You have been touched by the moon spirit" he commented, noting her piercing blue eyes and white hair.

"Yes. Its life is in me. Maybe…maybe I can give it back." She stood up and moved towards the fish.

"No!" cried Sokka, grabbing her hand. "You can'! I'm supposed to protect you."

Yue smiled at him and placed a hand on his cheek. "And you have. You've done what you're supposed to do. And now I have to do this. It's the only way, Sokka."

Yue placed her hands on the fish. It glowed a right white, then Yue gasped. Her eyes closed and she fell back into the pond. Her white hair spread out around her in the water and turned black as the last bit of life left her.

Iroh placed the newly revived fish back in the pond and pulled out Yue's body. Sokka let out a mournful wail and took her in his arms, crying.

Katara felt tears running down her own cheeks. Yue had been unbelievably brave to sacrifice herself, not just for her tribe, but for the sake and balance of the whole world. She was a hero.

000000000000000

Zuko leapt over Zhao's attack and sent more fire at him. With one last punch, he managed to knock the older man down.

A look of shock and horror appeared on Zhao's face. "That's impossible!" he cried. Zuko looked. The moon had returned, but how?

It didn't matter. What mattered was that Zhao had failed, that Zuko finally had the chance right now to pull out the thorn that had been in his side and tormented him for so long. Zuko raised his hand, a bright flame glowing in it.

Before he could strike, water erupted from over the side of the bridge they were on. It glowed a mysterious blue and formed the shape of a hand.

Zuko tried to duck and the water-hand grabbed Zhao and began to pull him away. Zuko looked over the side of the bridge as the hand pulled Zhao down into the water.

He held out his hand to Zhao. He had never liked Zhao, never would, but for someone to be pulled underwater, to drown like that-it was horrible, even for him.

But Zhao pulled away and Zuko watched in horror and he was dragged below. Slowly, shaken, he began to turn away from the bridge.

Then another wave of water came, knocking him off the bridge, dragging him into the freezing waters below.


	14. Chapter 14

Zuko gasped and sat up. He was no longer in the water but on land. Zuko looked around him. This wasn't the Water Tribe's city. It was a swamp, hot, muggy. There was a strange golden tint to everything and the whole place felt…otherworldly.

It was. _This is the Spirit World._ Zuko thought frantically. _Am I dead? I hurt, but I don't feel dead._

Zuko let out a breath and tried to summon fire in his palm. Nothing happened. He tried again. Still nothing. He then recalled Uncle once saying how bending was impossible in the Spirit World…for the living.

The Spirit World, Zuko recalled from stories his mother and uncle told him, was parallel to the physical world. During solstices and eclipses the line between them became practically invisible, allowing spirits to enter the physical and vice versa for humans. Some spirits were strong enough they could traverse between the two worlds at their own will.

But how did he get here? The spirits of the dead came here when their physical bodies died, but they usually lived in the land of whatever element they came from. People of the Fire Nation lived in Agni's realm, in a mountain chain of volcanoes.

But Zuko was sure he wasn't dead. Did the moon's temporary change and disappearance count as an eclipse? Perhaps it was the Ocean Spirit who dragged him here? Spirits could often bring people into the Spirit World, though usually not for friendly visits.

_You are correct. _

Zuko jumped at the voice and looked around. It was male, deep and raspy.

_It was the Ocean Spirit who brought you here, young firebender. I asked it of him, since I am unable to bring you myself. _

"Who are you?" Zuko shouted. "Show yourself!"

The winds howled in response. Zuko watched as shadows detached themselves and formed in front of him. A creature appeared. It was incredibly tall; its body seemed incomplete. The upper part seemed like the torso of a man wrapped in a black cloak, but it flowed down and ended in shadow. If the creature had legs and feet, Zuko couldn't tell.

The skin was a deep, rough blue. Long-fingered hands with curved black claws appeared out of the "sleeves". Its face was an oval, with deep, gleaming red eyes, a curved nose, and a fierce, mocking snarl parted to reveal lines of white fangs. A tangled, matted black mane framed the creature's face.

It snarled and bent down so it was eye-level with Zuko.

"Who are you?" Zuko repeated, trying not to let his voice crack.

_You mean you don't recognize me? You wear my face often enough. _

"You-You're the Blue Spirit?"

_One of the many names I go by. You may call me that, but I prefer Hyna._

"Why did you want to see me?"

_Oh prince, I've wanted to see you in person for a long time. But I have always been watching you, as my liege commanded me to do. _Seeing Zuko's confused look, he went on. _It is a long tale, one I will not recite for you, for we would be here for the rest of your life if I did. But I became indebted to your patron spirit, the Great Agni. He commanded me when you were born, to watch over you. The shadows in your room you pretended were your friends when you were lonely as a child?-that was me. I have been watching and influencing your life. _

"Influencing!" Zuko shouted. "My whole life, my nightmare, my scar, my mother, everything! Did you influence all of that?"

Hyna looked remorseful, as much as a spirit possible could look. _I am sorry. _he said simply.

_You must understand, as terrible as some things are, for yes, you have suffered greatly, all these things were meant to happen. There are certain parts of your destiny that no one can change, not me or you. All of these things had to happen to shape you into who you are. The things currently happening are shaping you as we speak. _

"You sound like my uncle" Zuko snarled. "You should bring him here and have tea with him! I'm sure you could have great conversations."

_Zuko, you had been fed lies since birth. I only speak and show the truth to you. You must unravel the web of lies if you wish to free yourself from this life. You are capable of greatness; you can change the world, but only if you can find and follow your true path. I try to guide you, but I can only do so much. _

At these words, Zuko saw part of the spirit was…attached to the tree behind him. 

_I am imprisoned here, for a reason it would take too long to explain, time we do not have. I am limited into what I can do and what I can bring between the two worlds. _

"What you show…I had a dream, of my cousins' death but I wasn't there. Was…was that you?"

Hyna nodded sadly. _A fine man Prince Lu Ten is. _

"Lu Ten? Is…is he here? Can I see him?"

Hyna was now shaking his head no. _There is no time, you must return. We will see each other again, Prince Zuko. _

"No, wait!" Zuko shouted, but there was only darkness around him.

0000000000000

Zuko gasped and pulled himself out of the water with trembling arms. How long had he been underwater? It couldn't have been that long, but it felt like ages.

Zuko suddenly felt exhausted and collapsed on the cold ground.

"Zuko!" Uncle was rushing towards him. "Zuko, are you alright? You're soaking wet; you're going to freeze!"

Zuko forced himself to sit up and blew out some fire, relieved that he could bend again. Uncle helped him to his feet and wrapped his cloak around him to keep him warm.

The sound of approaching footsteps made them both turn. Katara was standing there, having gone looking for Aang.

"So what's going on?" Katara asked, sounding resigned, yet angry. "Are you on our side or not? I'm confused, Zuko. You're so complicated and I can't figure you out."

They stared at one another for a moment. Zuko let out a breath of steam. "I saw… what the Avatar did. I saw what he did to the fleet, to my people. Because of that, they're all dead."

"There are hundreds of people here that are dead or wounded!" Katara shouted back. "Millions who have died in the war _your_ country started. Yue is dead, _my mother_ is dead!"

"I didn't start this war! I didn't kill the Air Nomads, I didn't cause Yue's death, and I certainly _didn't kill your mother!_ You can hate me all you want Katara, if that's what you want. But if you do, then you can at least hate me for the things I've done myself, not what my ancestors or countrymen did. I'm tired of being blamed for everything wrong in this world! If you want to yell at someone over the war starting, how about you yell at _the Avatar?_!"

Zuko let out another breath of steam, then turned and walked away without so much as a backward glance.

000000000000

In the comfort of her fur bed, Katara cried. She had chased Aang and Sokka out of the room, wanting to be alone.

It was three days since the Siege of the North ended. Three days of tending to the wounded, and capturing unfortunate Fire Nation soldiers who had survived the slaughter but couldn't escape. Three days of hearing the cries over the loss of loved ones and the rituals to the Moon and Ocean to watch over the dead. There was no body to send out to sea for Yue; her's had disappeared after her sacrifice. Katara felt sad over Yue, but that wasn't the reason she was crying.

It was _Zuko. _She hated him for what he did, hated that she was wasting tears over him. He betrayed her. He lied to her. She would never, could never, ever, forgive him.

_Monster_. That's what you are Zuko. She cursed him, wherever he was. He and his uncle had vanished after she tried to confront him. But it didn't matter. She never wanted to see him again.

00000000000

Miles to the south, on a small raft in the middle of the cold ocean, Zuko found himself thinking about a certain waterbender. He felt so confused. He didn't hate her, but it was clear that was how she viewed him. Damn, he'd been close.

But the Avatar. After what he'd done, there was no way Zuko could continue with that so-called truce he'd planned. He watched thousands of his countrymen die, years of shipbuilding sink to the bottom of the ocean, and all because of _that child_.

He had to choose between his country and, well treachery. Siding with the Avatar and his allies would make him a traitor. _I'm not a traitor! I love my country and my people. _

He glanced to the side where uncle was taking a nap. Uncle would be labeled a traitor. And simply for helping the moon. They all needed the moon. It, She rather, balanced the atmosphere and controlled the oceans. Without her, the world would fall into chaos.

_But the Moon is back now. That girl, Yue, she gave her life for it. _Uncle had filled him on what happened when he went after Zhao. Though she was Water Tribe, he admired the girl's last act of bravery and self-sacrifice. Her story would become one of legend, of bedtime nurseries, how the princess became the moon.

And speaking of spirits, there was a particular, interfering blue one on his mind. The Blue Spirit, Hyna, he'd called himself, was…disturbing.

Zuko shook his head. He did _not_ want to think about that now. He would tell uncle what happened later, when he could think straight again.

He recalled the message he'd sent before his ship had been destroyed. Yes, he would need the Red Spirit's help, for support if nothing else. Zuko stared out at the seemingly endless ocean. They needed to get back to the Earth Kingdom. And soon.

00000000000000

"Katara?" Sokka's voice sounded muffled on the other side of the door.

Her brother poked his head in cautiously, as if she was going to throw ice daggers at him. "Sis, you okay? You've been in here all day."

Katara looked up from where she was still sitting on her bed. She was pretty sure she looked awful-red rimmed eyes, tangled hair, pale face.

_I wonder if this is how I looked after mom died. _

Sokka held up a steaming bowl. "I brought you something to eat." He held it out to her.

"Thanks." She accepted it, but set it on the nightstand. She wasn't terribly hungry.

"So how are you holding up?" she asked. Sokka looked tired and older and had been unusually quiet and somber. She missed loud, goofy Sokka.

"I'm alright. I miss Yue."

"We all miss her. And we won't forget her."

Sokka smiled weakly, but Katara could tell it was forced. It never reached his eyes.

"Where's Aang?" she asked, trying to steer the conversation elsewhere.

"He's with Pakku, training. Pakku says he has a lot left to learn and if trying to get him to learn as much as possible before we leave."

Katara nodded glumly. She hadn't done any waterbending since the siege ended; she hadn't felt like it.

"Pakku's hoping you'll tutor Aang after we leave. He says you've learned so much. You've mastered all the basics and you've got almost all the advanced moves down. He thinks if you keep practicing the way you've been, you'll be at master-level within a year or two. Isn't that great?"

It was Katara's turn for a weak smile. She knew Sokka was trying to cheer her up. She was proud of her accomplishments, considering how poor she'd been when they first left the South Pole. The scroll from Zuko's ship had helped…

Katara clenched her jaw. She did not want to think of him. Ever.

Sokka must have gained the ability to read minds, because he said casually, "Still thinking about jerkface?"

"Yeah." She couldn't say more, feeling tears well up and close her throat. She placed her head on Sokka's shoulder and felt hot tears slip out. "I hate him!" she sniffed. "He's horrible and confusing and I-I just hate him!" Her shoulders shook and she began to sob again.

Sokka rubbed circles on her back, comfortingly. "I know. I hate him too. I hate them all. They're evil."

"They're heartless. They're monsters." Katara spat. It felt good to say such things, cruel or not. It helped to let some of her anger out.

"I hate the Fire Nation" said Sokka. "They raided out village, took our mother, held you captive, attacked the Northern Water Tribe, and killed Yue. I know Aang doesn't believe in violence and killing, but Firelord Ozai needs to go down!"

"The whole ocean needs to rise up and drown their whole country!" Katara screamed, emotion overflowing her senses.

A gasping noise came from the door. Aang was standing there, wide-eyed, looking like he'd just seen them kicking cute, baby leopard seals for fun.

"What's wrong with you?" the Avatar cried. "I mean, I know the Fire Nation has done lots of bad things, but you don't really mean that."

"Yes. I do" Katara said darkly. "The world would be better off without them."

"The monks used to say hate was like a tree. You plant the seeds of hate in someone's heart and they grow into a tree. The person becomes poisoned by their hate. And just as seeds fall and are planted, harsh words and thoughts can make hate spread. You have to stop the tree from growing so it can't spread anymore."

Katara and Sokka both snorted. "The monks aren't here, Aang" said Sokka. "_War_ is. Hate, and death, and destruction are all part of it. You can't convince people otherwise, you can't end over a century of violence with happy, little sayings. And we hate the Fire Nation and there are millions of other people around the world who would agree with us. They need to be stopped."

"But.."

"There are no buts, Aang" It was Katara's turn to speak. "That's how it is. It's not fair, it's just the world."

Nothing would convince them otherwise. The Fire Nation was the epitome of evil. They needed to be gone.

**If you're confused, think of how poor Katara is feeling. She is confused because she was starting to think Zuko was actually a good person, but then she sees him in the Fire Nation uniform with Zhao. But he turns and attacks Zhao, and the next thing she knows, Zuko is carting her and Aang off. She isn't sure if Zuko is actually trying to help them or kidnap them. When Sokka and Yue come (remember Sokka is still very distrustful of Fire Nation) he automatically assumes Zuko is hurting them. Aang, wanting to believe there is some good in everyone, convinces them to let Zuko come with them. However, after the battle, Sokka, who is devastated over Yue, speaks badly about all Fire Nation, including Zuko. Katara eventually sides with her brother, going back to believing all Fire Nation is evil monsters. **


	15. Chapter 15

Katara was in her room again, packing for their trip. They would spend a few weeks heading south, accompanied by Pakku and handfuls of other waterbenders who'd decided to go to the South Pole and rebuild. Once they reached the Earth Kingdom, they would head for Omashu. Aang wanted to show them the world's largest mail transportation system (and also, according to him, the best and biggest slide). He also wanted to see if his friend Bumi was still around, hoping to learn earthbending from him.

Katara was skeptical. What were the chances of Bumi surviving for a hundred years? And even if he was still alive, could they find him? Could he, or would he, be able to teach Aang? Still, it was a shot and Aang had to learn the other elements.

She sat down on the fur bed. It was so soft and comfortable; she'd miss it. It wouldn't be the same, having to go back to the sleeping bag on hard ground. The Northern Water Tribe had been extremely grateful to Aang for saving them and were piling them with provisions-dried foods, medicines, supplies. Pakku had promised to give them some extra scrolls for them to study waterbending.

Katara had been practicing her reading on her waterbending scroll, so she could learn more. And speaking of reading…

She reached into her bag and pulled out the copy of _Love Amongst the Dragons. _She'd gotten a full two pages into it. It was difficult going. The book had been written a while ago and was done in a way different than how she was used to people speaking. She'd spent a while just trying to figure out those two pages. All she'd gotten out of it was that there was some Fire Nation noblewoman unhappy with her life. At this rate, it'd take her years to finish it.

Then again, she wasn't even sure she wanted to finish it. It was Fire Nation literature and she had decided to hate any and all things Fire Nation: food, customs, literature, people. Especially the people.

Evil monsters.

"You ready?" Sokka came into her room.

"Almost" Katara replied without turning around. She stuffed the book at the bottom of her pack.

It felt slightly strange to leave the place they'd spent the last several weeks staying at. It had its similarities to home: food, the blue-dyed clothing and furs, the people who looked like her, the same cuisine. If not for their ridiculous rules and 'customs', it wouldn't be a bad place to live.

The three of them headed out on Appa. Beneath them was a small fleet of waterbenders, led by Pakku, heading for the South Pole. They'd accompany the Avatar and his friends until they reached the shore of the Northern Earth Kingdom. Then, the three would be on their own on their way to Omashu.

It took several weeks of traveling south. Sometimes, they rode on Appa, others times on the ships. The events of the siege were spoken about little if at all. Finally, the shore of the Earth Kingdom came into sight. Before they left, Pakku provided them with extra provisions, as well as gifts. For Aang, a box of waterbending scrolls, to help improve hi technique. For Katara, a vile of water from the Spirit Oasis. For Sokka…a "Good luck".

With their goodbyes made, the trio mounted Appa and made their way south.

**Yes extremely short, but hey, I updated! You guys have all been such wonderful readers! I realized I have over 50 people following and reading this story. I was shocked, but pleased nevertheless. I'm very sorry about the huge length of time between updates, but so much has been going on lately (school, moving, family stuff (including my new baby niece!)) so I've not had much time to write. **


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